


The Wizard and the Void

by MiladyDragon



Series: Wizard and Deathless [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Doctor Who (2005), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dark Magic, Dragons, Elves, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Language, Magic, Multi, Temporary Character Death, Violence, perceived character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:51:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 105,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/pseuds/MiladyDragon
Summary: Master Void Wizard Phillip Coulson had believed he'd left behind his former life as the Dark One, the most feared Wizard in the Western Lands.  He'd even gone as far as to fake his own death at the hands of the mad Wizard, Loki of Asgard.Or, so he'd believed.When the Void cabal calling itself Hydra approached him in order to recruit him to their cause, Phil found himself fighting to hold onto the life he'd built for himself out of the ashes of his former one.  However, too many mysteries surrounded his first "death", and those mysteries were being dug up, one by one, and going back to his quiet life in his magically unPlotable Keep and raising his adopted daughter seemed to be impossible.Add into that the fact that he'd hidden his survival from Clint Barton, Elven archer, the man he'd had feelings for back during his Dark One days, and Clint discovering that Phil, indeed, was still alive...things were never going to be the same again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Marvel Bang 2018, and is set in my Wizard and Deathless Verse. You do not need to have read the previous stories to understand this one, because I think I explain things pretty thoroughly; plus, this story takes place one hundred years after those. Two people from those stories appear in this one: the aforementioned Wizard, Ianto Jones; and the Deathless, Jack Harkness. 
> 
> This was beta'd by totally4ryo, without whom this story might not have been written. She has also volunteered to do art for it for the Big Bang, but a computer issue has prevented her from getting it done in time for posting. As soon as she can get that done, it will be posted.
> 
> Also, the Child Abuse tag does not apply to anything done by any of the main characters, and is not shown only referenced.

 

Someone was approaching the Keep.

The Void magic was evident to his senses, poking for his attention.  Phillip Coulson, Master Void Wizard, had started sensing the approaching Wizard about three minutes ago, and he’d immediately left his casting chamber and headed up into the living areas of Shield Keep, his home, knowing that he hadn’t been expecting anyone that day and curious to know who was coming to visit.

He didn’t bother to change his clothing.  After all, anyone who was coming unannounced deserved to get him in his ‘work’ garb: a black tunic and trousers, the ceremonial Wizard dagger in its sheath on his belt, and his wand in its holster near his dominant hand.  He’d been working with potions that day, and the scent of lavender and sandalwood – and other scents that were a little less savory – clung to his clothes like some sort of bizarre cologne. 

Well, whoever it was deserved what they got for interrupting him with their very presence, especially when he’d been in the middle of a very delicate tincture that didn’t survive the distraction.

He supposed it could have been worse, in a way.  His unknown visitor could have been either a Cardinal Wizard – his direct opposite on the magical spectrum, and could make his magic itch in the right circumstances – or a Great Wizard, who were usually pretty full of themselves even though they were slightly less powerful than either the Cardinals or the Voids.  Their position as the balance between the darkness and the light had gone to their heads, he was certain, and they were pretty insufferable about it, even going to the extreme of condemning both sides.

By the time he’d reached the front hall, his dragon, Lola, had joined him.  She hated it when he worked with potions; taking just one sniff as he was scratching her head had Lola sneezing and the dissatisfaction at his not smelling like he usually did was evident through their empathic bond.  When Phil did his potions work, Lola usually kept herself occupied elsewhere. 

Still, she leaned a little against him, enjoying the scritches.  Lola was medium-sized for a dragon, her head reaching his waist, her brilliant red scales filigreed in black.  She was quite striking, and Phil could still remember the day when she’d appeared to him, on the very day he’d turned eleven.  His parents had been thrilled to bits that their only son had shown signs of being a Wizard, back when he’d been seven…although that pleasure had dimmed considerably when he’d Tested as a Void Wizard.  Voids, being on the dark end of the Wizard family tree, weren’t exactly looked down upon; after all, there needed to be a balance in all things.  But his mother and father had been hoping for him to be a Great Wizard.  They’d never let him forget it, either, in ways that had affected him for the rest of his life.

The Cardinals and the Voids were just a different breed entirely, and not at all understood by non-magical folk, condemned at times for being the way they were.

His steward, Melinda May, also entered the front hall, giving Phil a single raised eyebrow what was quite eloquent in its movement.  She’d been a friend of his for years, dating back to his mercenary days, and had settled into Shield Keep easily after Phil had offered her the position.  She’d been sent along by Marcus, who’d explained to her that Phil himself wasn’t really dead after that run-in with Loki of Asgard, and he’d be forever grateful to his good friend for breaking the news in such a way that had Melinda not breaking Phil’s nose for lying about being alive.

“It’s a Void Wizard,” he answered her unspoken question.  “A fairly powerful one, judging from the amount of magic he’s putting out.  And, before you ask…no, I wasn’t expecting anyone today, or else I’d never have started that Transfiguration potion that I’ve only been putting off for months.”  Those sorts of potions took a lot of work and concentration, and the spells over the cauldron had been ruined the moment that Phil had sensed the encroaching Wizard, not to mention the very expensive spell components he’d been using.

Melinda flinched slightly which, for her, was a full-body wince in anyone else.  While she wasn’t Wizard stock herself, she was well aware of just how much went into the potions that Phil was so very good at concocting.  “I would have been more than happy to toss whoever it is out.”

“And you would have enjoyed it.”  She didn’t deny his accusation.  “No, it’s not often we get visitors like that, so it’s most likely important.” He didn’t mention that, whoever it was, had to have known exactly where to look in order to find the Keep.  He didn’t have to.

“Besides,” she smiled slightly, “getting rid of them now would only mean they’d try to come back later and bother us again until they actually spoke to you.”

“Exactly.”

Also, the closer the Wizard got, the more Phil was positive he recognized the person’s magical signature.  He was certain he’d met this visitor before, but he just couldn’t place them.

“Dad?”

He glanced upward toward the stairs that led to the upper levels of the Keep, to see his daughter, Daisy, standing there, her smaller dragon, Skye, draped over her shoulders.  She wasn’t dressed for visitors either, wearing a loose sleeveless dress that showed off the magical gauntlets that had been a necessary evil in aiding to control her rather powerful magic.  Her dark hair was piled on top of her head and resembling a bees’ nest, and a stylus was tucked behind her ear, which meant she’d been working on her lessons.

“I take it you sensed our visitor as well,” he commented.

Daisy rolled her eyes.  “It’s like he’s not even _trying_ to be subtle.”

His daughter was studying to be a Cardinal Wizard and would, perhaps one day, be even more powerful than Phil was.  Of course, their magicks were completely different, but that didn’t matter.  He was incredibly proud of her, and had fought to adopt her after he’d discovered her, eleven years ago, a dirty and half-starved orphan who’d tun away from the children’s’ home she’d been placed in and right into a war zone.  She hadn’t had Skye until about four months later, when the dragon had come to her one night not long after Phil had quit being a much-feared dark Wizard and had devoted himself to her care. 

Finding her had been the catalyst for him claiming Shield Keep when Marcus offered it and leaving behind the life that he’d known since he’d been seventeen, a little older than his daughter was, now, and it would be another four years before she was fully accredited as a Wizard.

He smirked.  “Some Wizards don’t know the meaning of the word ‘subtle’.”

Daisy didn’t argue with him about that.  She spent much more time around other Wizards than he did, mainly because Phil actually _liked_ being a bit of a hermit.  Daisy, however, had friends who were fond of dropping in on her at any time, especially once they all learned about Teleport spells.  Phil had come to expect that sort of behavior from the younger generation, and always welcomed them into their home, even if he tried to make himself scarce when his daughter had company.

It wasn’t the sort of thing he’d expect from an obviously accomplished Wizard, like the one that was now just outside the door.

“Or just have bad manners,” Melinda pointed out as she made her way to the door.  She pulled it open before the person on the other side actually had a chance to knock, and the man standing there with his fist raised managed to hide his surprise under a façade of _bonhomie_.

No wonder Phil had thought he’d recognized that magical signature.

“Can you tell Phil that John Garrett’s here to see him?” the visitor requested, his voice chipper.

Phil knew John Garrett.  They’d gone to the Wizard School together and, while they’d been acquainted they hadn’t been friends, and Phil had moved on from that particular circle once he’d met Marcus.  They’d gotten caught up a little once Phil – although Garrett didn’t know who he _really_ was – had settled down, and had become a member in fairly good standing of the Wizard’s Guild once more, but they hadn’t really seen each other that much over the years outside of gatherings of their Order.  Hells, the last time he’d seen Garrett had been about a year ago, at the last Quorum.

Melinda hadn’t moved, and her blank expression made it very clear that she didn’t appreciate unannounced visitors.  “Hey, Phil!”  Garrett called out.  “Can you tell your attack harpy to let me in?”

To Melinda’s credit, she didn’t kill Garrett for _that_ insult.  It wasn’t as if there weren’t a lot of places in the area that she could lose the body, after all.  She was good at that sort of thing.

From where he was standing, Phil knew that Garrett couldn’t see him, so that demand had to have been thrown out there on the chance that he was around and close by.  Phil held in the eye roll, knowing that no one would see it and therefore it wasn’t worth performing it – at this time – and moved forward enough for Garrett to notice him. 

“Melinda,” he requested quietly.

“Phil!’  Garrett exclaimed, sounding happy to see him.  Melinda moved a little bit out of the way, letting Garrett and his dragon, Buddy, into the hall.  “You son of a bitch, how have you been?  It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

He approached, and would have stepped right into Phil’s personal space, but Lola hissed at him, her wings mantling at what she perceived as some sort of insult to her Wizard, if the indignation that was flooding the empathic link between her and Phil was any indication. 

“Whoa there.”  Garrett took a hasty step back, even as the other Wizard’s dragon returned the hiss.  Buddy was slightly larger than Lola, in shades of black and brown, and took a protective stance between Lola and Garrett.  “Call her off, Phil.”

Barely hiding a smile, Phil sent an all clear through their bond, and Lola calmed down slightly.  She was an extremely good judge of character, and it was apparent she didn’t care for Garrett one little bit.  It was a little surprising, since Lola hadn’t had an issue with him before. Although, to be honest, she’d totally ignored the man at their other meetings, and there hadn’t been all that many really.

He wondered what Lola had sensed that had her changing her opinion.  Phil would have to keep a wary eye out.  Not that he wouldn’t do that, as matter of course, but it was always good to have a second opinion.

“I take it there’s a good reason for you to just show up like this?” he asked as Garrett got his own dragon to back down from his equally protective stance.

“What?  I can’t just drop in on an old friend?”

Phil would have bought that, if it wasn’t for the fact that the innocence was such a thin veneer on Garrett’s face that the slyness came shining through.  Besides, he didn’t really consider Garrett a friend… more of an acquaintance that he was prone to running into every once in a while.

Phil crossed his arms, waiting.

“Oh, alright.  Yes, I do have an ulterior motive.  Think we can go somewhere private?”

“My study.”

“Sounds great.  Lead the way.”

Instead, Phil gestured Garrett forward.  He caught Melinda’s eye, nodding slightly, and she returned it, acknowledging the implied order to keep a watch out for any other surprises.

He also gave Daisy an encouraging nod.  She hadn’t moved from her place on the stairs, observing the situation, which spoke more of Melinda’s teachings than anything she was learning at the Wizard School.  His steward had taken it upon herself to give Daisy lessons in such things as self-defense, and his daughter had taken to them easily.  Phil was very confident that she could take care of herself, with or without her magic.

Garrett gave her the once-over as they passed on the stairs.  Daisy didn’t back down, and Skye gave her own hiss at the man, who simply laughed.  Phil had to hold onto his control, to keep from punching the man; it was only because Daisy could stand on her own two feet that stayed Phil’s hand and his magic.

However, he’d hear what Garrett would have to say, and then kick him out on his ass.  Or he’d have Melinda do it, because she needed something other than her duties to enjoy.

Phil’s personal study was up a level in the Keep, and was quite possibly his favorite room.  It had an awe-inspiring view of the valley below the mountain that Shield Keep stood upon, old trees falling below the level of the window, and the thin ribbon of river at the bottom of the valley.  On cloudy days, the mist would hang over the trees, giving them an ethereal aspect, one that Phil never got tired of seeing.

The carpet was thick and plush, a silvery gray color that complimented the curtains that were always open.  Bookshelves were along one wall, stocked with all sorts of tomes, both magical and non-magical, interspersed with knickknacks that the Wizard had picked up in his travels.  Along the opposite wall was a massive fireplace, more objects displayed on the mantel, along with an ancient chronometer that he had on good authority had once been owned by one of the Kings of Genosha. 

Framed art was displayed on the third wall, the one with the study’s door.  One was a piece of propaganda from the Century War, an armored Sir Steven Rogers on it, extolling the virtues of volunteering for duty.  Not that Phil would ever admit it, but he was a great fan of the good Paladin, even though he hadn’t exactly done right in his life by the man’s morals and beliefs. 

The desk took up pride of place before the large window.  A leather couch was sat catty-cornered of the fireplace, along with an overstuffed chair that Daisy had adopted, whenever she would study her lessons as he worked at his desk.  A cherry wood end table was placed between the couch and chair, an abandoned mug left there from the last time his daughter had inhabited the space.

He’d have to remember to let Daisy know once again that it wasn’t alright to leave her dishes behind.  It meant more work for Andrew, Melinda’s husband.

Phil waved Garrett to the seating area.  “Wine?” he offered, making his way toward the small credenza behind the desk.

“Sounds great.  That road up to your place is a real pain in the ass to navigate.”

Phil didn’t comment that he liked it that way, and was one of the main reasons he’d decided to reclaim the Keep from nature, which had been well on its way to consuming it when Marcus had offered it to him.

“And did you really need to make this castle unPlotable?  It would’ve been a lot easier if I’d been able to actually teleport here.”

Phil didn’t answer that complaint.  He liked his privacy.  It should have been obvious that casual, unannounced, visitors were unwelcome.  It wasn’t his problem that Garrett had chosen to ignore that unspoken fact.

Opening the credenza, he took down two wineglasses and poured them both a measure of the brilliant red wine that Marcus had sent him on his last birthday.  As a rule, the Wizard didn’t drink all that much, but he had the impression that he was going to need it.

He handed the wine to Garret, who’d taken a seat on the couch.  Phil settled himself in the chair, content to wait for the other man to sip his drink and to explain the reason for his visit.

He didn’t have long to wait.

“Damn,” Garrett exclaimed, “this is good stuff!  May I ask where you got it?”

“A friend of mine.  It’s from the highlands of Francos, where they’ve taken winemaking to an artform.”

“Can’t argue with that.”  He cradled the glass to his chest, his dark eyes on Phil.  Any sort of good humor that had been in them had faded.  “I know you’re curious as to why I’m here.”

“I wouldn’t disagree with that assessment.”

Garrett looked solemn which, from what Phil knew about the other Wizard, was an unusual thing.  John Garrett was always full of slyness and pleased superiority, so this was a definite change.  Phil didn’t like it in the least.

There was a hissing sound from behind them, and Phil didn’t need to look to know that Lola was being bothered by Buddy, and was warning him off.  He sent calmness down their connection, feeling the dragon back down a little, but then she was suddenly next to him, curling up at his feet, her whirling blue eyes watching events warily.

Garrett let out an amused chuckle, although it was obvious he wasn’t, not really.  “She a feisty one.”  Buddy had come around the side of the couch, sitting himself down almost on Garrett’s foot.

Phil took a sip of his own wine.  “You were telling me to what I owe the honor of your visit.”  It wasn’t an honor, and he could tell that his ‘guest’ had noticed that fact.

But, to Garrett’s credit, he didn’t react to the near-silent contempt.  “Tell me, Phil…what do you think about the Guild?”

The Void Wizard couldn’t help the eyebrow that rose at that question.   When the first Wizards had reappeared back on the scene a little over a hundred years ago after them being extinct for nearly a thousand years, there had almost been a war started over the couple of them that had first shown up, until the then-King and Queen of the United Kingdom – where it had occurred – had proclaimed that Wizards were their own people, that any previous employment contracts would not apply to them, and that they would all need to register with the newly-formed Wizard’s Guild.  It had been an excellent idea at the time, Phil thought, and put them on the same level as the rest of the Guilds that had already existed. 

When Wizards began cropping up everywhere, most other countries had adopted the Guild structure that had already been put in place, since it made the most sense to keep using what was working.  Now, there were three Grand Master Wizards, who oversaw the entirety of the Guild, with six Heads of each Order for the various countries of the world.  The Quorum Hall was still in Gateway, where the Wizard School had been established, but there were Guild halls now in every city, handing everything from finding and Testing new Wizards, to settling disputes, and to making certain that employment agreements were fair and aboveboard.    

It also meant there was jostling for position and downright corruption as well, but that was the way of any Guild. On the whole, he thought the Grand Masters were doing a good enough job at running things.

“I don’t have any personal issues with the Guild,” he answered, “although I do believe there’s way too much politics going on within it.  I tend to keep myself out of such things.”  He’d leave all that shit to the Heads of the various Orders and the Grand Masters.

“It’s been noticed.”

That wasn’t surprising.  Phil hadn’t made it any secret of his dislike for all of the power playing behind the scenes.

“However,” Garrett continued, sly grin breaking over his blunt face, “you can imagine the surprise some of us had when we realized that the Dark One was playing nice.”

Phil had a very hard time not reacting to _that_ , but he managed.  _The_ _Dark One._   He hadn’t heard that title in over ten years.

It had been back during his mercenary days, when he and Marcus Johnson had done their best to burn the world down out of sheer, misplaced anger.  They’d met at the Wizard’s School in Gateway: Phil had been a student Void Wizard,  a year from being chosen as a Novice, his parent’s disappointment in his magical Testing a festering wound in his psyche; and Marcus, the completely unmagical son of one of the teachers there, who’d carried the largest chip on his shoulder over the fact that he was surrounded by Wizards yet wasn’t one.  The two boys had become fast friends, brothers in every way but in blood, and they’d gone on a tear across the Western Lands in an attempt to fix something that had been broken in both of them.  Phil had lived up to every single horror story about Void Wizards, not letting his conscience get in his way…not until Loki, and then not long after his ‘death’ he’d found a young girl, hiding in an alley, an orphan who had run away from the fourth orphanage she’d been placed in and who’d been trapped in a war that should never have occurred, and he’d adopted her as his own. 

Phil had finally realized just how ashamed he was over his part in a lot of suffering, and had buried the persona of the Dark One down deep, not wanting to let it out to wreak havoc ever again.

He thought he’d succeeded in divorcing Master Wizard Phillip Coulson from the mercenary called the Dark One...a highly pretentious nickname but well deserved.  It appeared he hadn’t been as good about it as he’d thought, even with faking his death.

“I think you might have me confused with someone else,” he denied, proud of the fact that his voice had remained its calm, placid tone.

Garrett shook his head, amused.  “Oh, come on, Phil…it was obvious once a little research had been done.  You…the Dark One.  I have to admit, I was flabbergasted.  You really don’t strike me as a cold-blooded killer.”

Nothing Phil had done as the Dark One had been cold-blooded.  It had been just the opposite.  Every single one of his crimes had been accompanied by hot blood and pain and terror and a need to prove that he was as evil as his parents had thought he was.

Some of his actions still gave him nightmares.

He knew he should continue to deny what Garrett had assumed. 

Instead, he said nothing, taking another drink of Marcus’ excellent wine.  Only now, it tasted of ashes.  Ashes and death.

“So,” Garrett went on, seemingly content with Phil’s non-committal to being the Dark One, “it’s not common knowledge…yet.  But you have to know you’re still wanted in a lot of places, and there are Cardinals and Greats who would be more than happy to turn you in, as well as quite a few Voids, too.  It won’t even matter that you’re living under the protection of the Baron Triskelia, although how you worked _that_ out is a mystery.”

And that, right there, told Phil that Garrett didn’t have a clue that His Grace, Nicholas Fury, Baron Triskelia, was actually Marcus Johnson, the man who’d committed just as many atrocities as Phil had and was wanted in just as many cities as Phil, himself, was.  Because, honestly, at this moment it didn’t matter that Garrett knew about himself, he was just concerned for his friend.  Marcus was doing too much good in Triskelia to risk him being discovered and arrested for they’d done together.

One of the things he’d always known was that he would gladly sacrifice himself for Marcus Johnson, his brother. 

“Is this some sort of blackmail?” Phil inquired calmly.

“Not at all!  Please, Phil…we want you on our side, not working against us!  We know exactly how powerful you are, after all.  You could easily kick Master Malick out of his place as Head of Void Order if you wanted to.”  He got even more comfortable.  “The thing is, it doesn’t matter why you’ve been hiding out here in this dusty old Keep – “

It was a good thing Melinda hadn’t just heard that…she took her duties as Steward _very_ seriously, and if she had she wouldn’t have hesitated in breaking Garrett’s neck for the insult against Andrew, who managed the cleaning and was very good at it.

“And why you’re raising a Cardinal kid…although, the rumors say you’re grooming her for some sort of power grab later on, because having the Cardinals under your thumb just sounds awesome – “

That comment nearly had Phil coming up out of his chair.  Daisy was his _daughter_ , and it didn’t matter to him what sort of power she’d been given.  She could have been a null and he would have been perfectly happy.  He loved her just the way she was, and wouldn’t change her for _anything_.

Still, he held onto his control with both hands.  He had the feeling Garrett was finally getting to the point.

“But there’s a cabal of Voids who don’t care for the status quo and would like to get a bigger piece of the pie, as it were.  And we think you’ll fit right in, what with your history and all.”  Garrett leered.  “I, personally, never get tired of hearing about the razing of Buda-Pest.  That story never gets old.”

Phil recalled that mess vividly.  He and Marcus had had help with that mission, and it made him wonder where the Hawk and the Widow were.  He hadn’t seen them ever since his ‘retirement’, but then he hadn’t actually made any sort of announcement about surviving Loki.  In fact, he’d thought he’d done an excellent job in faking his death.

There were a great many things he regretted in his life.  Buda-Pest _wasn’t_ one of them.

Not being honest with Clint about his being alive was, however, one of the bigger regrets.  But still, it had been over ten years ago.  It was too late to contact him and Natasha now.

However, what Garrett was suggesting…

Every magical student was taught that there was a balance to all things.  The Cardinals and the Voids balanced each other, as the Great Wizards toed that balance between them, keeping things from tipping too far one way or the other.  When the first Void Wizard in a thousand years, Harold Saxon, had been born, a Cardinal, Ianto Jones, was also conceived in order to balance the powers. 

The Void, or the Deathforce, would always need to be balanced by the Deep Ways, the Lifeforce.  One could never be more powerful than the other.  The Deep Ways couldn’t exist without the Void, and vice versa.

“What do you mean by that?” Phil asked, keeping the wariness out of his voice by sheer will power.

The smile Garrett gave him was darkly pleased.  “I’m so glad you asked me that.  Why…immortality, of course.  Our group – Hydra – is after the secret of the Deathless.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

Clint Barton sighted down the bow, letting his arrow fly.

Of course, the arrow hit dead center of target.

“Now you’re just showing off,” Natasha snarked.

Clint turned away from the target he’d set up in the castle courtyard in order to smirk at her.  He really hadn’t set up his practice area in that section to garner attention; he’d done it because it was the longest length of uninterrupted wall and he really didn’t want to leave the city every day to keep himself occupied. 

Natasha was seated on a wagon that someone had parked next to his impromptu shooting range, cleaning out from under her fingernails with a small knife, the breeze blowing about her vibrantly red hair.  Clint loved her to pieces; she was the sister who made up for the shitty brother he’d been born with.

“Why would I need to show off?” He flexed his biceps, partly to continue the joke and partly because his arms really were his best feature.

Natasha rolled her eyes at him, hopping off the back of the wagon and putting her knife away.  “Come on, Marcus wants to see us.”

Clint nodded, going to retrieve his arrows.  Nicholas, Baron Triskelia and once one of the fiercest mercenaries in the Western Lands, didn’t often send for them; but then, the Elf and Natasha were just prone to showing up on his doorstep anytime they felt like it.  After all, the three of them had a history, had bled for each other, and they were as close to friends as they could possibly get.

One of their group was missing, though. One that made Clint’s chest hurt whenever he thought of him, and time hadn’t made it that much better.

Together, the pair made their way into the castle proper, dodging past the main corridors and heading toward the lesser traveled paths toward the Baron’s quarters.  Both of them were very familiar with the place; but then, it was what they did.

They had just arrived in Triskelia Town a couple of days ago on a whim, really.  Clint and Natasha both enjoyed traveling, seeing the sights and kicking whatever asses needed to be kicked.  Things had changed since they’d enjoyed cutting a good, destructive path throughout various places, but the excitement of being a mercenary bastard had faded away a while back, and now they were just happy doing work for Marcus on occasion and getting into trouble just so they could get back out of it again the rest of the time.

Marcus – or Nick, as he wanted to be called these days – had settled down, overthrowing a despotic ruler and putting himself on the Baronial seat of Triskelia.  Clint thought it was just _insane_ that their friend had become such a good Baron.  He was still an asshole, and could be cruel, but Nick never did anything without good reason.  His people respected him, and the prosperity he’d brought to Triskelia made him very popular with his people.  There were even rumors that he was planning on marrying the current Head of Great Order for the Western Lands, Mistress Maria Hill, which was about as settled as a person could get, really; getting married and having a ton of kids.

Clint wasn’t so sure about that one, but hey…if Nick wanted to do it, then he’d be happy for his friend, and then be the fun uncle that led whatever progeny came along into serious amounts of trouble and then hand them back to their parents hyped up on sweets.

The Baron’s Chambers were at the rear of the palace and up three stories.  Clint and Natasha had managed to arrive unseen, and Natasha didn’t even bother knocking before entering through the hidden door that let into the bedchamber.  Clint had always wondered if they would ever catch Nick in bed with someone, these days most likely Mistress Maria, but they hadn’t as yet.  It was as if he had some sort of sixth sense about when someone was going to show up, especially when it came to Clint and Natasha.  Clint would have suspected magic if not for the fact that the former mercenary didn’t have a magical bone in his body.

The Baron wasn’t in the room, but his signature black cloak had been thrown haphazardly onto the rather ornate bed at some point.  The enormous piece of furniture even had a canopy, about a dozen pillows, and the thickest duvet _ever_ in steel gray that made it look like some sort of fluffy storm cloud, which Clint thought was hilarious.  If anyone would have told him that their friend, Marcus Johnson, was a closet hedonist, he would have called them a liar before the first time he’d ever seen that bedroom.

Natasha strode across the room, so Clint went with her.  He was curious as to why Nick had sent for them.  Maybe he had a mission for them?  Honestly, that would have been fantastic.  Sure, they’d only been back a few days, but Clint wasn’t fond of staying in one place too long, a holdover from the days when he’d been on the run from his own people, the Elves of the Hawk Enclave.  Neither was Natasha, really, but for her own reasons that she didn’t like to share.

She had with Clint, which had made him love her even more.

The room beyond was a sitting room that was just as opulent as the bedroom.  Overstuffed chairs, couches that a person could disappear into, and tables of dark wood were the predominant furnishings.  The fireplace was so enormous Clint could have knelt inside with plenty of room for Natasha to join him, its andirons as black as Marcus’ soul…and he’d once made just that comment to their friend; Nick had laughed his ass off, which would have been disturbing if Clint hadn’t known him all that well. 

The floor to ceiling window showed the gardens, within the castle walls, which were in full bloom.  Clint knew for a fact that the window was magically warded, so that no one could get into the suite through it.  It had the unmistakable tang of Void magic; Clint might not have been able to sling any spells, but the Elves had always been sensitive to that sort of thing, and could recognize magic for what it was.  

Nicholas Fury, Baron Triskelia, once known as Marcus Johnson, stood at the fireplace, leaning his arm against the mantel, which was plain and unadorned with any sort of trophies or personal items except for a dagger with a long, black blade that he’d once picked up during a job in one of the many Eastern Empires.  He was dressed in his usual black: tunic, trousers, and boots, but unarmed; his sword was leaning against the wall near the door, a sure sign of the comfort he felt being in his own private chambers.  He looked toward them as they entered, his single eye rolling as he said, “You two never knock, do you?”

Clint didn’t answer, and neither did Natasha.  They didn’t have to, really.  Nick had known exactly how they were going to arrive.

Nick wasn’t alone, however.  With him were two very surprising visitors…

Mistress Maria Hill, Head of Great Order for the Western Lands.

And Mistress Virginia Potts, Head of Cardinal Order and Maria’s equal.

Clint had met Mistress Maria a couple of times.  She was a tall, austere, woman, her dark hair pulled back in a severe bun, her blue robes cut for ease of movement, her wand in a sheath at her waist, ornamental dagger at the opposite hip.  From what he’d heard, Mistress Maria had been a warrior, one that paired fighting and magic to destructive affect.  Her dark blue dragon, Iliad, sat at her feet, as much at attention as his master was, head almost up to Mistress Maria’s shoulder.

This was, however, the first time he was officially meeting Mistress Virginia…or Pepper, as she was more well known as.  She was also tall, but her hair was a strawberry blonde and was loose about her shoulders.  Her own Wizard robes were a silvery white, matching her dragon, Happy…who was living up to his name, lolling about on the carpet with his feet in the air, tongue out between jaws that were open in the draconic form of shit eating grin.  Happy was one of the smallest of the dragons Clint had ever seen, about the size of a house cat, and the moment he caught sight of Clint he was flying up and draping himself over the Elf’s shoulders, cooing. 

Iliad looked as if he wanted to join in on the cuddle-fest, but he steadfastly remained by his Wizard’s side, his training holding in the face of the Elf in the room.  Clint was a little disappointed, but he had enough with Happy demanding attention.

The Elves had an affinity for dragons, as well.  Clint couldn’t go down the street without a dragon leaping at him, demanding attention, although he didn’t have any sort of empathic bond with them, not like their chosen companions.  All he could say was that it was a good thing he adored the silly beasts.  His brother hadn’t, but then dragons knew good people and hadn’t bothered Barney at all, except to hiss at him on occasion. 

Clint really should have paid attention to the dragons, back when he was young and stupid. It would have saved him a world of pain later.

“Happy!” Mistress Pepper laughed.

“It’s fine, Ma’am,” Clint assured her, reaching up to scratch under the dragon’s chin.  “Dragons just love me.”

“I can tell!”

“When you said we were waiting for two more,” Master Mistress said dryly, “I wasn’t expecting Barton and Romanov.”

“Is that who they are?” the Cardinal Mistress asked, acting surprised, although Clint got the impression that she’d known exactly who they were and was simply playing for the audience, as it were.

“We’re just as surprised to see you here,” Natasha commented, sounding almost as dry as Mistress Maria had.

“Children,” Nick chided them, not sounding at all paternal.  “Now that we’re all here, I need to give you some information that’s just come to my attention.”

“It must have been very important to ask us to come,” the Head of Cardinal Order said, smiling slightly.  “I had to duck Tony in order to get here without him noticing, or else he might have tried to tag along.”

Everyone knew that Mistress Pepper was married to Tony Stark, Baron Ferrous, and they pretty much felt sorry for her.  Baron Tony was a notorious flirt and attention seeker, brilliant in a way that no one could quite understand.  Not a Wizard himself, Baron Tony was, in fact, an inventor of great repute, one of the richest men in the Western Lands, and not as oblivious as he seemed.  Clint had never met him personally, but he’d once seen him, and noticed immediately that what most people saw was a carefully cultivated mask, hiding an insecure man behind that irritating façade. 

Clint always _had_ been able to see better at a distance.

“Believe me,” Nick said, “it is.”  He moved toward a small wine rack in the corner of the room, pouring them all a drink and passing the glasses around before he actually began.  “I have it on excellent authority that there’s a group of Void Wizards calling themselves Hydra that are trying to unravel the secret of immortality.”

That announcement had both Mistresses turning grim.  “How excellent is this authority?” Mistress Maria wanted to know.

“Impeccable.  I would trust this man with my life.”

Clint took a healthy swig of the spirits he’d been served, and it burned pleasantly on the way down.  There had only been one man that Nick had once felt that way about, and Phil was dead.  Hells, Marcus hadn’t even trusted Clint and Natasha quite that far, and they’d known each other for years.

Mistress Pepper’s eyes were narrowed as she regarded Nick.  She didn’t say anything, however, and Clint wondered if she was thinking the same thing that the archer, himself, was, but then dismissed it.  There was no way that a Cardinal Wizard of her caliber would have ever met Phil, a Void Wizard, let alone known how close Phil and Marcus had been.

Honestly, there’d been a time when Clint had been jealous of their close bond.  He’d gotten over himself pretty quickly, recognizing that they were more like brothers than anything else.  Not that Clint had the right to get jealous, because he’d never said anything to Phil about his attraction.  It was too late now, and he’d always regret not having the courage to stand up and speak his mind when Phil had been alive.  For an Elf, ‘always’ was a long damned time.

Mistress Maria stared at Nick, and Nick stared right back, as if daring her to say something.  The Great Wizard blinked first, so to speak.

“Alright,” she finally spoke, “so, this…source…of yours, the one you trust.  How did he find out?”

“Because they attempted to recruit him.”

“So…a Void Wizard.  Why haven’t you called Master Gideon in on this?”

Master Gideon Malick was the Head of Void Order, the third in the triumvirate that headed the Guild in the Western Lands, and Clint knew that usually the head of whatever order was being a pain in the ass would have been contacted first thing.  “You think he might be involved,” the Elven archer said, before he even realized he’d spoken.

“It’s a possibility.”  Nick held his hands up.  “Right now, I don’t trust _anyone_ in the Voids.  If word got back to whoever the hells is behind this, they could just go into hiding and we’d never catch them.”

Mistress Maria snorted.  “I’d trust Malick before I’d trust…well, there’s Garrett, and Zemo, and then there’s Coulson…”

Wait…what??

What had she just said?

“No,” Mistress Pepper said emphatically.  “Not Master Phil.  You can’t add him to that list.”

Clint suddenly felt a little light-headed.  Had they just said _Phil Coulson_?

But Phil Coulson was dead. 

He’d been stabbed in the back by that crazy Asgardian Wizard, Loki.  Clint _remembered_ that.  He’d been there.

Glancing over at Natasha, Clint could see that she was just as surprised as he was.  All these years, they’d thought Phil was dead.  What the fuck was going on?

Happy must have somehow sensed Clint’s confusion and anger, because he cooed a question at him, and the archer scratched his head in order to get him to settle.  Mistress Pepper gave him a look, and Clint wanted to curse at that damned bond.  Happy must have communicated to her that he was worried about his new best friend.

She didn’t say anything, however, for which Clint was very grateful.  Still, he could tell that she _wanted_ to.

“How can you be sure?” Mistress Maria demanded.  “It’s obvious that he’s one of the most powerful Voids in the Guild.  Maybe even stronger than Grand Master Pierce himself.  He could take power anytime he wanted, and no one could stand in his way.”

“He’s not power-hungry, Maria,” Nick defended.  “Phil’s content to stay in his Keep.  He’s not about to do anything like that.”

“Baron Nicholas is right, Maria,” Mistress Pepper agreed.

“How can you be so sure?” The Great Wizard was getting angrier the more they disagreed with her.  “I know you’re his patron with the gentry, Nick, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily _know_ him.”

Clint was still trying to process the fact that Phil fucking Coulson was still alive, and no one had _told him_.

But then, why would anyone?  No one had known how he’d felt for the Wizard.  Clint had held that little nugget close to his vest.  Only Natasha knew, but then she was very good.  It was nearly impossible to hide anything from her.

Although, they’d managed to hide Phil’s living status from her, as well, which should have been more of a surprise than it was.  When Marcus Johnson wanted to keep a secret, not even torture or magic spell would get him to talk.

“Maria,” the Cardinal Wizard said, “you’ve met my student, Novice Daisy.”

“Of course I have.”  She was confused.  “But what does she have to do with this?”

“Daisy is Phil’s daughter.”

Wait… _what_???

Since when had Phil had a _daughter_?

All these revelations were coming thick and fast, and Clint was having a little trouble grasping it all.  He’d have to talk to Natasha about this, to get caught up on all the information they were getting bombarded with.  Happy actually licked his face, in an attempt to comfort him, and this time Iliad actually broke his training and moved to his side, leaning into him.  Clint rested a hand on his head in gratitude.

Mistress Maria didn’t seem to notice her dragon’s sudden defection.  Instead, her eyebrows went up in surprise as she stared at her Cardinal colleague.  “Your favorite novice…is the daughter of who is more than likely the most powerful Void Wizard of this _age_?”

“When Daisy came to the Magic School,” Mistress Pepper explained, “and it was obvious just how promising she was, I immediately wanted her as one of my novices.  Phil could have hidden who he was from me, but he didn’t.  He didn’t want Daisy’s teaching Master to discover anything by accident and then hold it against her…which I wouldn’t have done, but I could see his point.”

“Wait a minute.”  Mistress Maria held a hand up.  “Why do I get the feeling there’s more about Coulson than you’re saying?”

Clint was just a little irritated that she wasn’t using Phil’s rank, which he’d earned.  Still, it didn’t even put a dent in the shock and hurt he was feeling at being kept out of the loop on Phil Coulson being fucking _alive_.

Nick was looking at Clint, his single eye confused, but then he turned to glare at Mistress Pepper.  “He tell you everything?”

The woman nodded.

“Fuck.”  Nick ran a hand over his bald head, blowing out a breath.  “Alright.  Maria, I’ve been as honest with you as I can be about my past.”

“You have,” the Great Wizard agreed.

“Then you know I used to travel with the Void Wizard who called himself the Dark One…”

“I know, but we all know he was killed by Prince Loki…” Mistress Maria faded off, and such a look of incredulity crossed her face that it made Clint want to laugh.  “Are you saying that Master Phil Coulson was the _Dark One_?  The bloodiest Void Wizard since _Harold Saxon_?  And he isn’t dead?”  She made a disbelieving noise, spinning to confront Mistress Pepper.  “You knew about it and didn’t say anything?”

The unimpressed eye roll would have been a pleasure to see if Clint wasn’t so busy wallowing.  All these years, he’d honestly believed that Phil was dead.  That he’d been at least partially responsible for it, all because of Loki’s mind control magic.  He’d beaten himself up over the years, when it seemed like he hadn’t needed to.

_Damnit, Phil._

He was immediately hugged by Iliad, who by now had been noticed by Mistress Maria, who gave Clint a glare that would have melted steel if he’d actually cared.

“Of course I didn’t say anything,” Mistress Pepper scoffed.  “Phil retired from all of that, faking his death in order to leave everything behind.  He wanted to be a good father for Daisy.  And he has been.  He purposely stays out of Guild politics because all he wants to do is live his life in peace…” she glanced at Nick.  “He was the one who passed along that information, wasn’t he?”

Nick looked impressed.  “Yes he did.  Master John Garrett approached him, trying to recruit him.  Apparently, he hadn’t been as good at covering his tracks as he thought, because Garrett knew all about that Dark One shit.  The moment Garrett left, he was contacting me, to warn me.  Idiot decided to accept so he could get the inside scoop on just who was involved.”

“Wait,” Clint finally spoke out loud, “you’re saying Phil – who I thought was dead until a few minutes ago – decided that it would be a really good idea to go ahead and join up with this Hydra in order to be some sort of _spy_?”

“He did,” Nick confirmed.  “And I _thought_ you and Natasha already knew that Phil was alive and laying low, or else I would’ve said something sooner about him surviving Loki’s little back stab.”

“You both know the Dark One?” Mistress Maria demanded, crossing her arm in accusation.

It was Natasha’s turn to roll her eyes.  “We _did_ occasionally work with the mercenary known as Marcus Johnson and the rogue Void Wizard who called himself the Dark One.  You had to have known about that mess in Buda-Pest, so please don’t pretend you weren’t aware that we were all involved.”

“Alright, yes.  I knew about the Hawk and the Widow hanging out with Johnson and the Dark One.  But, please excuse me if I’ve had all my preconceived notions about certain people tipped onto their heads.”

“And Buda-Pest was a disaster,” Mistress Pepper shuddered.

Clint couldn’t disagree with that, although it had turned out for the best.

“And Phil just…what?” the Cardinal Wizard asked.  “Thought that being our inside man was something he should personally _do_?”

“He did intimate that Garrett was willing to blackmail him to get him into their group,” Nick added.  “He was threatening to expose Phil as the Dark One to the Guild.  You both know what sort of shitstorm _that_ would have caused.  Daisy may know the truth about him, but he wasn’t about to risk her personal safety by telling Garrett to go and screw himself.  He just believed it would be the perfect opportunity to get in and get what information we needed to bring Hydra down.”

“And we do need to know just how Hydra thinks they’re going to gain any sort of immortality,” Mistress Maria allowed.

The current Grand Master of the Cardinal Order, Ianto Jones, was immortal, only through a special connection he had to the Deep Ways.  It was controversial, and far too many of the Great Wizards objected to him using the primal Lifeforce of the Universe to keep himself alive, but from what Clint had heard it wasn’t something Grand Master Ianto did on purpose. 

“I want to know,” he mused, breaking into what was turning into a minor argument about letting Phil – _damnit_ , Phil! – do what he’d obviously planned: infiltrating Hydra.  “If the Grand Master Ianto could unconsciously tap into the Deep Ways to make himself immortal, then what would stop the Voids from doing the same thing with the Deathforce, as it’s called?”

Well, that certainly shut them all up.

“I mean,” he went on, “would that necessarily be a bad thing?  We’re all taught about the balance, and how the Cardinals and the Voids balance each other out.  There’s one immortal Cardinal…why shouldn’t there be an immortal Void to balance that out?”

That…had them all thinking.  Mistress Pepper was chewing her lip thoughtfully, while Mistress Maria looked positively livid.  Nick was shaking his head, his expression impressed.  “Fuck, Barton…you _had_ to ask that, didn’t you?”

Clint shrugged.  The most powerful Cardinal Wizard in the world was supposed to be a functioning immortal.  He’d been named the Grand Master of Cardinal Wizards, because he just was that powerful.  They’d put him in charge of all the Cardinal Wizards, over the Guilds and all the Heads of Cardinals in every country. 

There were two other Grand Masters, one of each Order; one of those was Alexander Pierce, the Grand Master of Voids.  But, if what he’d heard was true, he’d gained the position through politics, and not because he was actually the most powerful Void Wizard in the world.

That was possibly Phil Coulson.

Who’d been the Dark One, the evil Wizard that people still whispered about.  Phil had been responsible for a lot of death and destruction, as he and Nick had cut a swath through the Western Lands – and into a couple of other countries – in their quest to…well, Clint didn’t really know in quest of _what_ , exactly, although both men had been furious at the world.  Clint had always thought it hilarious that Marcus had named himself Fury, because that was what he had been for a long time.

The thing was, it was obvious that Phil hadn’t wanted the position of Grand Master.  He could have taken it easily.  Instead, he’d left the mercenary life to raise a daughter – damnit, _Phil_! – and had been happy to remain dead as the Dark One. 

“That’s a question for another time,” Nick stepped in before an argument could start…and it looked as if Mistress Maria _really_ wanted to argue.  “And, it wasn’t Grand Master Ianto that Garrett mentioned…it was specifically the Deathless. So, you need to be considering how they’re gonna pull that shit off instead.”

There had been legends and tall tales about the man known as the Deathless for over a thousand years.  Clint had heard a lot of them, through bards and other sources, and had thought they were all nonsense…until a man named Jack Harkness had shown up, claiming that really preposterous title, clearing up the rumors and romanticized events behind his becoming immortal.

Turned out, it had been an untrained Cardinal Wizard, a young girl named Rose Tyler, who had done the deed, albeit unintentionally, during an invasion made by what were still called the Nameless Demons, from the north of the United Kingdom.  Somehow, Rose had managed to cast a spell that sucked the very lifeforce out of the rampaging demons and, not being able to disperse it herself, had channeled that lifeforce into one Jack Harkness simply because she didn’t want him to be dead.  The man was literally filled to the brim with all that life, making it impossible for him to stay dead.  

The truth had come out about a hundred years ago, when Wizards began to re-emerge into the world, and Harkness had become Ianto Jones’ lover.  Being together with the so-called immortal Grand Master had brought him out onto the world stage, and now everyone knew just who the Deathless was.  

“Captain Harkness’ form of immortality cannot be duplicated,” Mistress Pepper claimed.  “We know that for a fact.”

“Then maybe you should go and explain that to whoever the hells is behind this?” Nick countered.  “Because, apparently, they must think they _can_.”

“And they want Coulson’s help to do it,” Mistress Maria growled.  “Nick, he might have been your friend… but he’s also the Dark One – “

“ _Was_ , Maria.  _Was_ the Dark One.  That isn’t him anymore.”

“Master Phil is a good man,” Mistress Pepper insisted.  “That was in his past.  He’s different now, and deserves the benefit of the doubt.”

“All I can think of is all the death and destruction he’s responsible for!  He’s a Void, and we all know every single Void skirts the fine line between good and evil – “

“And see,” Nick interrupted, “this is precisely the reason Phil went bad to begin with…because people didn’t believe that a good man could wield the Void.”

He stalked right up to Mistress Maria, anger tight in his face.  “It was those prejudices that started him down that path.  He was six years old when his magic manifested.  His parents were so damned proud…until he Tested as a Void Wizard.  After that, they made sure they showed their disapproval at every fucking turn.  So, by the time he’d gotten to school, he was positive that he was an evil person…so, why shouldn’t he act that way?  His folks made him the Dark One, Maria and, despite the best efforts of his teachers and his Master, he believed those idiots who’d birthed him.  Thank fuck he found Daisy, because there’s no telling what would have happened if he hadn’t met that little girl.  She was the one who finally convinced Phil that he _could_ be both a good person _and_ a Void Wizard.”

“And whose fault is it that these prejudices exist?” Mistress Pepper pressed. “The Great Wizards have picked up right where they’d once been, back before magic vanished…poisoning the people against both the Cardinals and the Voids.  All three Grand Masters have done their best to combat the lies that have been spread around, but what’s coming out of the Great Order…you’re all so convinced that what we do is wrong, that being able to tap into either the Deep Ways or the Void is anathema, and taboo.”

“Because the ancient books say it is!” Mistress Maria shouted.  “It’s wrong to use the Deep Ways and the Void, they are just too powerful to ever be tampered with!”

“The Greats would go back to the time when both the Deep Ways and the Void were worshipped.  But both are tools, just as the magic that permeates the rest of the universe.  If you say that we shouldn’t use either, then certainly we shouldn’t be using the primal magic as well!”

Clint wanted to tune out the argument, and the dragons who were cuddling him were attempting to do just that, but they were failing.  He wanted to slot the information about Phil into his head, into the mental picture that he’d been carrying around for years of the Void Wizard.  If he was being honest with himself, the archer had known even back then that there was far more to Phil Coulson than what he showed on the outside, more than the Void Wizard who was more likely to tear down the world than to build it back up.  What Nick had said about the Wizard’s parents made more sense in the context of Phil’s actions back then…except for a couple of extenuating circumstances that the Elf knew of.  Clint had long considered Phil a good man, only one that was in so much pain he needed to make everyone else hurt, as well.

He’d tried to talk to Phil about it once, and it had caused such a row that they didn’t speak for months.  With the gift of hindsight, Clint could see that him asking about it had only hurt the man he…well, that he had been attracted to.  He should have kept his big mouth shut. 

Maybe then, Phil would have informed him that he’d survived Loki’s attack and had adopted a kid.

“This is all well and good,” Natasha finally spoke up, her words cutting across the recriminations like a hot knife through soft butter, “but these arguments aren’t getting us anywhere.  Clint and I trust Phil, and we’ll do what we can to help him get whatever information he can about this Hydra.”

Clint nodded in agreement.  There was no way in _any_ hell that he was going to let Phil handle this alone.  Phil shouldn’t be doing it _anyway_ , not with a kid at whatever home he was living in now and being out of the game for so long, so to speak.  “You’d think Phil actually _volunteering_ for this sort of mission a sign that he was on the side of the good guys on this,” he pointed out. 

Mistress Maria threw up her hands.  “Alright, fine.  We’re not going to solve any of this by arguing over old hurts.”

“Agreed,” Mistress Pepper capitulated.  “Please let Phil know, if he wants to keep Daisy out of this, she’s welcome to come and stay with me.  We can always say it’s for additional training.”

“I’ll do that,” Nick said easily.  “I know he was planning on leaving her under the protection of his Steward, but this might actually work out better.”

The Cardinal Wizard grinned.  “Well, if you can’t trust Melinda May with your child, I suppose you really can’t trust anyone.”

Wait… _Melinda May_ knew?

 _Damnit_ , Phil…

Clint was going to have _words_ with the man, the next time he saw him.

“I’m assuming there’s some sort of plan?” Mistress Maria inquired.  She was still angry, but she was keeping it under tight rein.  “And can I have my dragon back?”

The Elf couldn’t help the smirk as Iliad made the choice to stay with Clint.  Honestly, it had to be Elf pheromones or something that had dragons think he was some sort of drug, like a form of dragon catnip.

“I’m going to ask Widow here,” Nick indicated Natasha and ignoring the dragon drama, “to do some digging into the Voids, to try and figure out just who’s involved with this Hydra shit.  She’s the best one to handle that sort of thing, with the contacts she has.”

She nodded in acknowledgement of the order.

“And, Barton here…he’s going to be playing bodyguard for the Dark One.”

Clint scoffed, even as his inner self was yelling and jumping up and down for joy…and perhaps a little anticipation at punching Phil’s lights out when he saw him.  “Like he needs any sort of protection.”

“Phil might be a powerful bastard, but Loki still managed to get a shot in, and that was when he was on top of his game.  Now, he’s been retired for over ten years.  He’s out of practice and is gonna need someone to watch his back.  Who better than the Hawk, the second-most feared assassin in the country?  If not the world?”

Clint wanted to preen at that, but settled for crossing his rather impressive arms and putting on his resting face.  He knew he was good at what he did; only Natasha was better.  It was why the pair of them made such a formidable team and why he wasn’t bristling at being called second best.

Still, from what Nick said…Loki had apparently managed to take Phil out.  From what the archer could infer, Phil had simply used that injury to promote the Dark One’s death to the world, so he could be left in peace.  After everything, Clint really couldn’t blame him.

He was just a little pissed off, though, that Phil hadn’t managed to contact him in some way, to let him know that he really wasn’t dead.

Clint might really have to punch him for that, because he’d thought they were friends.

“Where is Phil now?” he asked, instead of making his inner threats of violence public ones.

“He’s set up in a place called Shield Keep, high in the Apalana Mountains.”

The Elven archer frowned.  “That’s at least four days’ journey from here.”

“Well, yeah,” Nick snarked, “if you went by horseback.  Here.”  He removed a silver ring with a large black stone on it from his index finger.  “Phil gave me this for when I wanted to visit without drawing attention to the fact that the Baron of Triskelia was visiting one of his subjects for no apparent reason. It’s targeted on the Keep and the palace, here; Shield Keep is unPlotable, so it’s the only way to get there via magic.  If you have to, you can use it from anywhere, but you’ll end up either here or there, whichever’s closer.  Use that to teleport to the Keep.  I’ll let Phil know you’re coming, so he won’t blast you out of existence when you pop in.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Clint couldn’t help but be sarcastic as he accepted the ring, sliding it onto his thumb.  The black stone glinted up at him, as if taunting him in some way.

“Tap the stone three times, and it’ll activate.”  Nick rested his rather large hand on Clint’s shoulder.  “I don’t know why he didn’t contact you before this, but he must have had a good reason.  All I ask is you hear him out before all the gross bodily damage starts, alright?”

“No promises.”  He couldn’t make that one.  He had no idea how he was going to react on seeing Phil again, and he wanted to keep his options open.

Nick smirked.  “Yeah, I thought you’d say that, Barton.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

Phil couldn’t help but want to pace, but instead he stood almost at a parade rest, hands tucked behind his back, as he waited in his casting chamber for his visitor to arrive.

Clint Barton was coming.

He hadn’t seen Clint in years.  When he’d decided to fake his death and to hide his Dark One nature from the rest of the world, he’d played with the idea of contacting Clint and Natasha – especially Clint – to inform him of his still being alive.  In the end, he’d decided against it, for what had seemed like the best of reasons at the time.

The Void Wizard’s casting chamber was deep in the heart of the mountain, a circular room that was shielded and warded against all sorts of incursions.  It was the place where Phil cast his most powerful magicks, and where he prepared his potions and wrote his own spells, knowing the chamber would keep any sort of accidents from escaping out into the world. 

Not that he had that many.  Phil liked to think he was meticulous to a fault, and mistakes were pretty rare.  Although they did still happen every once in a while.

This was also where he often brought Daisy, so she could practice her own magic.  She wasn’t as careful as she could be, but then she was young, and the risk of damage was significantly greater.  There was, in fact, a blackened scar in the rock where one of her spells had gone awry, and it had been the wards about the place that had kept the earthquake from moving much beyond the mountains around them.

Daisy was far too powerful for her age, and sometimes that power manifested in very interesting ways.  That was the reason he’d created the gauntlets she now wore; the first time her magic had burst forth it had caused a rockslide farther up the mountain.  Mistress Pepper – or Pepper, as she’d insisted – had been impressed with the metal gauntlets and had asked him about getting a written copy of the spell work he’d put into them, the better to help other children who would have trouble with their own powers until they had either the training or the maturity to handle their power competently. He’d been happy to do so.

With a quiet chime and a ‘poof’ of displaced air, Clint Barton appeared within the chamber, near the plinth where Phil kept his personal _gramariya,_ the magical ring he’d borrowed from Marcus the only thing that would have allowed him to actually pass through the sheer amount of warding Phil had done, or to even find the Keep in the first place _._

The Elf hadn’t changed much in the nearly eleven years it had been since Phil had last seen him.  His hair was a little longer and a little lighter, most likely from spending a lot of time out in the sun.  His ears were just as sharply pointed, but sometime in the last decade the Elf had added a couple of piercings to his left earlobe, the gemstones – Phil thought they might have been amethysts – glittered in the light from the magical glowglobes that were spaced out along the walls.  If anything, his shoulders seemed a little wider, his arms a little more defined in his dark purple, sleeveless tunic.  His shooting brace had been replaced, the ancient leather thing he’d worn back during his time with them gone and a dyed purple one was wrapped around his forearm snuggly.  His signature bow and quiver were at his back, and a sword was at his hip; Phil could also count at least four knives on him…two tucked openly into the tops of his boots, one on the opposite side of the sword, and the fourth slid into a sheath woven into the material of his quiver. 

Phil guessed there were more weapons hidden on his person.  Clint never went anywhere without being armed to the proverbial teeth.

Those familiar, kaleidoscopic eyes were staring at him.  “Well,” said the voice that had once haunted his dreams…and still did, he couldn’t lie to himself about that, “Nick said you were alive, but now that I see it for myself I’m back to wanting to either hug you, or hit you.  I haven’t decided which one yet.”

It took Phil a couple of times clearing his throat before he could reply.  “Either one, it’s up to you.”

Internally, he was hoping for the hug, but was expecting the punch.

Clint, however, didn’t move.  His face was wearing that blank expression that had most people wondering when the murdering would start, but Phil knew that it hid a lot of emotions that his friend simply couldn’t express.  “I just want to know why you never contacted me, Phil.  I thought…” his voice broke, and he glanced away.  “I thought we were friends.”

Gods, how was he supposed to explain?  How he still had nightmares of Loki stabbing him – killing him – and then awakening as the Void had kicked him out, as if he hadn’t deserved the peace of death?  How, still disoriented, he’d staggered off the table where he’d been put – where his _body_ had been laid out – and had been alone, everyone whom he cared about gone, leaving him surrounded by the dead, when it was obvious that Phil, himself, wasn’t?  He’d escaped that horrible morgue, not at all sure what he should do…only to find himself in the middle of a war being waged by Loki, using the demons he’d conjured up out of the Abyss in order to destroy everything in sight.

How he’d found Daisy, hiding from the fighting, so scared she almost stabbed him with a knife she’d picked up from somewhere.

Even now, this far away from the events of that day, Phil couldn’t talk about it.  The words caught in his throat like thorns, horrific and abhorrent.  There was no way he could even begin to explain.  Even Marcus, whom he’d gone to for help after everything, didn’t know the entire truth, and yet he’d helped Phil in spreading the news of the Dark One’s death and had offered the Void Wizard the broken Shield Keep as a place to stay.

Melinda didn’t know, either, and she was the one who’d truly helped him get his life turned around.  She’d shown up on his doorstep a couple of months after he and Daisy had taken up residence, bringing along a husband Phil hadn’t known about, not judging him for what he’d done, but taking the arrangements for the repairs out of his hands adroitly, leaving him free to help his new daughter through her own nightmares.

Phil wasn’t afraid to freely admit that Daisy had saved his soul, because there was no telling what he’d done with his life if he hadn’t found her.  Possibly, it would have been more of the same idiocy, and that had gotten him mistaken for dead and left in a morgue among the corpses.

He was just afraid of saying certain _other_ things that might get him into trouble with certain other people, more specifically the one standing in front of him, face so blank it was positively accusatory. 

“I just…” Phil took a breath, to gather his scattered thoughts.  “After everything, I wasn’t the man I once was.” Now, _that_ was an understatement; any anger at the world had vanished the moment he’d seen that little girl in that alley, cringing away from the fighting,  and in that moment he’d made his decision to become the best man he could be for this child who’d needed him as much as he’d needed her.  “I needed a fresh start, and by the time I was settled in with Daisy, so much time had passed.  I didn’t think…it was fair for me to suddenly pop up in your lives again, not after so long.”

Clint was back to looking at him with this eyes that seemed to see everything.  Would they also be able to tell that he wasn’t being completely truthful, that there were things he wasn’t saying?  All Phil could do was meet his gaze, and pour as much of his sincerity into his eyes as possible.

They stood there, staring at each other, for so long that Phil actually managed to lose track of time.  Back when they’d run together, the Void Wizard had harbored an intense crush on the Elf, but he’d disregarded it, as it simply hadn’t fit into his world plan to not ever have a happily ever after.  No, he’d believed he didn’t _deserve_ to be happy, being a Void Wizard, and everyone knew that Voids were evil…at least, that had been what his parents had claimed.  His teachers at the Wizard School, and Mistress Suzie Costello, the Wizard who had become his teaching Master, had done their best to convince him otherwise, but children always seemed to worship their parents, and how could his mother and father have been wrong?

Of course, he knew differently now.  Phil had lived the last eleven years as a man who wanted to do the best he could for his own child, and he hoped that, someday, Daisy would understand that.  However, back then as was now, Void Wizards had gained the reputation for evil, mostly through the actions of the Great Wizards, who swore that the ancient books had to be correct despite evidence to the contrary. 

Phil had read the old texts.  He still wasn’t quite sure why the Greats were so positive that their attitudes were correct, since all of the propaganda from that time had been written by their own kind without any sort of reliable evidence. 

Mistress Suzie had been a good person.  She’d been correct about there being both good and bad Void Wizards, as well as good and bad Cardinals and Greats.  Phil wished he’d been able to tell her that he finally understood what she’d been trying to tell him before she’d died, but he’d come to the realization far too late to make her aware that her lessons hadn’t been in vain.

“Well,” Clint finally broke the silence, “let’s get this shit taken care of, and then I can decide what I actually want to do.  Then, maybe you might feel more like telling me the truth.  Because, I have to say, you’re a terrible liar.”

“No, I’m not!” Phil protested.

“Did you just admit that you _did_ lie?”

“No, of course not!”  Where had _that_ come from?  “I’m not a terrible liar.”

Clint smirked.  “Yeah, you kinda are.  You have _tells_ , Phil.”

 “I deny that I have tells.”  What in the hells was Clint on about?

“You do.  And I’m not gonna tell you what they are, because I don’t want you to attempt to get rid of them.  It’s nice to know that, after so many years, I can still know when you’re not telling the entire truth.”

Phil was stunned.  He’d thought he could bluff his way through this initial conversation, but it turned out he’d been wrong.  He…didn’t know what to do with the information he’d just been handed.

Fortunately for him, Clint was willing to let it slide for now.  “How about you introduce me to this daughter of yours, then?”

It was the one thing he’d never thought he’d do, and yet he’d dreamed of: one day, Clint would meet Daisy.  “Alright,” he sighed, anything to get away from the subject of his death and new life.

There was a lone staircase up into the Keep proper, and Phil led Clint up it.  The casting chamber was far underground, so it took them a bit to get to the entrance to the Keep, but by the time they’d arrived at the door into the Keep’s hallway Phil was a bit more in control of himself.

“I didn’t agree with Marcus that I needed back-up,” he admitted as he ushered Clint through the secret door.  “And I would have said the same thing if he’d sent anyone else, so don’t take offense to that.”

Clint snorted.  “No offense taken.  You might have changed a lot in the last eleven years, but it hasn’t been _that_ much.  Apparently, you’re still the most self-sufficient bastard in the entire damned world.”

Phil wasn’t so sure of that, but he wasn’t about to mention _that_ thought.

The moment he was through the hidden door, Clint was _attacked_ by an overly excited dragon.   “Well, hello beautiful,” he greeted Lola, letting the red and black dragon practically tackle him back onto his ass.  Luckily for Clint, he landed on the carpet, and not the stone of the passageway they’d just exited from.  He gave her a skritch behind the crest as she attempted to crawl into his lap.  “Did you miss me?  I missed you too.”

Phil couldn’t help but be amused by his dragon’s antics, at the same time feeling all of her love and joy flooding his mind.  Clint had always had a certain rapport with dragons; he couldn’t feel their emotions, but they loved him just the same.  He couldn’t even feel jealous at how Lola was reacting to the Elf’s presence…because, deep down as far as Phil could push it, he felt the same way.  He was happy to see Clint again and, while his reasoning to hide from everyone but Marcus had been sound, he had to wonder if it was, in Clint’s case, more to do with the need not to be rejected.  Phil had already been through enough of that sort of thing in his life.

After a few minutes, Phil started to chivvy Lola away from the archer.  “Come on, let him up,” he laughed, tugging lightly on a wing in order to get her attention.  “He wants to meet Daisy and you’re distracting him.”

He could feel the pout dance across his mind as the dragon disengaged. 

“We’ve got time, girl,” Clint added, clambering to his feet and rearranging his bow and quiver, which had gotten knocked out of place on his back by the overenthusiastic cuddling he’d received.  “I’m not going anywhere.  Not this time.”  The look he gave Phil spoke volumes: defiance, and still a little anger, but also hope that he’d be welcome.

Phil barely resisted the urge to hug him.  “You can stay as long as you want.”  _Forever,_ his treacherous thoughts prompted.

It appeared that his…attraction…to Clint hadn’t faded out in the least.

“Come on,” he said, clearing his throat, “it’s this way.”

They left the passage, stepping fully out into the hallway…where Melinda was waiting, arms crossed over her chest.  She gave Clint her usual flat expression, but Phil could easily read into it her gladness at seeing the Elf again.  

“Clint,” she greeted, her voice inflectionless.

“Melinda,” he returned, his tone cheeky. “Glad to see you haven’t changed from your old warm, loveable self.”

The flat expression morphed into an irritated eye roll.  “And it’s nice to see you haven’t grown up all that much.”

Clint laughed and, with a long step forward, was hugging her.  Melinda returned it, her face relaxing into a smile.  “I’m mad at you for not getting word to me,” he murmured just loud enough for Phil to overhear.

“Not my story to tell,” she answered, letting go and moving away.  “Or else I would have.”

“Thanks for watching his back.”

“It’s only because he can’t do a good enough job of watching it himself.”

“Excuse me,” Phil interrupted, “but I’m standing right here.”

Melinda lifted one, sardonic eyebrow.  “So?”

This was Melinda.  She didn’t give two shits for a person’s feelings.  Phil adored her, and if things had been different he might very well have, at the very least, slept with her.

However, things were _very_ different.  And one of those things was the husband Melinda had brought along with her.  The second was standing there in his corridor, looking at the Void Wizard as if he was somehow afraid he was going to vanish again. 

Phil wanted to reassure him.  Now, that Marcus had let the proverbial cat out of the bag, there was no way he was going to go back into living in that same bag.  He’d been content on his own, with Melinda and Daisy here, but seeing Clint again had set something loose in his chest that he hadn’t known was wound tighter than a spring until it was gone. 

“So,” Daisy’s voice drawled, “this is the infamous Clint Barton.”

His daughter stood there, Skye draped like a living shawl about her shoulders, her hands on her hips almost defiantly as she stared at the newest arrival in intelligent appraisal.  Skye, though, the moment she caught sight of Clint, was aimed like a lightning bolt at the Elf, colliding with his chest and greeting him profusely.

That had Daisy losing her slight standoffishness and laughing delightedly. “I really wish I knew just what it was about Elves that had dragons going all gooey.”

“You and me both,” Phil confessed.  No one really understood it but it was, at times, funny to watch.

Clint hugged Skye tightly, keeping the wriggling dragon from slipping out of his grasp.  “And who is this lovely lady?” he cooed, using the fingers of one hand to tickle the blue dragon’s belly.  Lola must have thought it was cute, judging from the cooing she made, both aloud and down her link with her Wizard.

“It’s like that with these two Elf friends of mine,” Daisy continued, coming forward to peel her dragon away.  Skye huffed, but allowed herself to be reeled back in.  “You’ve met them, Dad…Jemma and Leo, from school.”

He had, indeed, met Daisy’s Elvish friends, and Lola had been all over them as well, just not to the extent that she was with Clint.  Both Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz were Great Wizards, and he’d liked them from the first time Daisy had brought them – and her entire group of friends – home over one of the school holidays.  They were about the least judgmental people he’d ever met, for Great Wizards, and Phil hoped they’d always remain that way. 

“It got so bad one time,” she went on, “because Trip’s dragon, Knight, kept bringing Jemma gifts, that Leo got jealous.  He didn’t show it, of course, but his dragon, Turbo, certainly gave the game away…”

“Luckily for me,” Clint admitted, “it doesn’t keep up for long, or else I’d have a veritable entourage of dragons and not be able to get anything done.”

“Yeah, Knight eventually calmed down, just like any other dragons do, but it’s still hilarious to watch whenever a new dragon meets those two.”

“Clint,” Phil decided that official introductions were in order, “this is my daughter, Daisy, and her dragon, Skye.”

“I’d say that my Dad told me all about you, but he really didn’t.”  Her eyes met Phil’s.  “And I’d really like to know why, since it’s obvious you two know each other _really_ well…”

“You’ll have to take that up with your Dad,” Clint said, “because he didn’t even tell me he was alive.  I had to find out from our old friend, Marcus, who thought I _did_ know.”

“Ouch,” Daisy flinched. 

“Exactly.”

“I had my reasons.”  They’d seemed like good ones at the time, but now Phil was beginning to wonder.

No, he couldn’t have second thoughts.  Telling Clint could very well have been a disaster, especially where the Wizard’s emotions were involved.  He still didn’t know exactly how he’d survived Loki’s attack, although it was obvious that he had.. 

“Either they were really good ones,” Daisy said, unconsciously echoing his thoughts, “or they were really bad ones that should be apologized for.” She crossed her arms, as if waiting for an explanation.  Skye, back to perching on her shoulder, chirped at him curiously.

Phil raised a single eyebrow, waiting.  It was obvious she wanted to say something, and it was just a matter of time before she spoke.

It didn’t take long at all.

“What are we going to do about this Void Wizard thing?” she demanded.  “I’m sure that’s why Clint’s here, right?  So there has to be a plan beyond going in and spying on them.”

It was Clint’s turn to raise an eyebrow, and this one was in Phil’s direction.   He could still look totally intimidating when he wanted to.  It was a good thing that sort of expression didn’t work on Phil anymore; he’d gotten used to it years ago.

The Wizard couldn’t hold back the eye roll if he’d tried, so he didn’t.  “You are not doing _anything_ , Daisy.  This is something I’m doing…with Clint as my back-up.”

“But, Dad!” she protested.

“You wouldn’t be able to get within half a day’s travel from the meeting place without broadcasting your presence,” he pointed out.  As a Cardinal Wizard, Daisy would stick out like a sore thumb around any concentration of Voids, and it was worse because she was so powerful and yet so young.  “And I simply won’t risk you in this.”  He stepped forward, cupping her cheek in one hand.  “You’re too important to me, and the Voids wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you if they thought you were spying on them.”

Her shoulders slumped; Skye held on with no problem.  “Alright, yeah… you’re right, Dad.  But there should be something I can do to help!”

If there was any doubt that Phil loved his daughter to bits, it would have been swept away in that moment.  Her need to help him was just as strong as his need to keep her safe, and he was so very proud of her in that moment.

“Mistress Pepper said you could come and stay with her,” Clint’s soft voice broke into their moment. 

That had Phil glancing at him in surprise.  “You saw Pepper?”

Something flickered in Clint’s brilliant eyes, but the Wizard couldn’t identify it, and it was gone in a heartbeat.  “Nick called her and Mistress Maria in to give them a heads’ up.  Natasha was there, as well, and it’s also even money whether she’d gonna hit you or hug you when she finally sees you in person.”

Phil hmphed.  “That seems to be the prevalent opinion of my hiding my survival from people.”

“Can’t blame them, Dad.”

No, he really couldn’t.

“I do think you staying with Pepper would be the best thing.”  Phil didn’t mention that it would also mean Daisy would be around Baron Tony, who Phil did hold with a great deal of respect…not that he would ever admit to it.  Tony Stark had done wonders for his Barony when he’d wrested power away from Obadiah Stane, who’d in fact stolen it from Stark’s own father.  Things were finally settling there, and with Pepper helping as well as having the cachet of being the Head of Cardinal Order for the entirety of the Western Lands, Ferrous had gained far more prosperity than it had had in decades.

Besides, Pepper was Daisy’s teaching Master, and as such Phil trusted the Cardinal Wizard with his only daughter’s life.

Daisy did perk up at that.  “This means I can hang around Baron Tony’s workshop!” she squealed. 

Well, this might not have been such a good idea, then…

She pulled Phil down just enough to be able to kiss his cheek.  She then, to the Elf’s evident surprise, kissed Clint as well.  “I’m counting on you to watch my Dad’s back,” she warned, giving him her best Coulson eyebrow.  Phil was pleased that she’d ‘inherited’ that from him. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Clint agreed, not being at all condescending and taking the responsibility that Daisy was giving him seriously.

Phil couldn’t help the warmth that bloomed in his chest at the sight of his only daughter interacting with the man he…well, he couldn’t even say it, really.  He just wanted to see more of that sort of thing, because it meant a lot to him that they get along.

Giving Clint one last, searching, glance, Daisy turned and flounced out of the hallway, Skye holding on tightly, toward the stairs that led up to her room.  Phil watched her go, the smile on his face something he wasn’t even aware of until he caught Melinda giving him a knowing look.

The Wizard cleared his throat.  “Melinda, Clint and I are going to discuss our plans.  We’ll also need to talk about the Keep’s defenses…which you’ll be in charge of while we’re gone.  We can’t take the chance that the Hydra Voids might want to snoop around here if they think they can get away with it, especially now that Garrett managed to find the place despite it being unPlotable.”

“I’ll wait until you’ve caught up and then join you both in the study,” she agreed.  “Because being in the same room with the pair of you is going to be a trial.”

She didn’t dignify Phil’s glare with a response.  But  then, she really didn’t need to.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

Mistress Pepper Potts stared up at the house in front of her, shaking off the effects of the Teleport spell she’d used to arrive.  Her magical sight picked out the various spells that had been used in the building’s construction.  The walls of the two-story structure practically glowed with the Deep Ways, much like the man she was about to speak to did.

She was currently just outside the city of Gateway, in the north of the United Kingdom.  The Barony of Gateway had grown over the decades since its reclamation from the ruins it had fallen into, and with the establishment of the world’s first Wizard School, when magic had come roaring back with the births of Master Ianto Jones, Cardinal Wizard, and Master Harold Saxon, Void Wizard.  Pepper knew the stories; after all, it was a part of her own heritage.  How magic had been cut off from the world by Master John Smith, a Great Wizard, who’d believed he was doing the universe a favor when he’d traveled to the future and saw a great war between Wizards, one that threatened to destroy everything.  Master John had managed to keep that future from happening, but his spell had been warped by the presence of the Deathless, the immortal named Jack Harkness.  The Great Wizard had used his name to seal the magic away, but hadn’t counted on the Deathless remembering that very name.  It had meant that magic would seep back after a time, and the spell would break.

For nearly a thousand years, magic had vanished, with only small dribs and drabs making their way through the block.  Eventually, it had weakened enough to create the first of the returning Wizards: Harold Saxon had been born first and, because he’d been a Void, the balance had needed to be maintained.  And thus, had come Ianto Jones, with his powerful connection to the Deep Ways.

A connection that had made him practically immortal.

The Great Wizards weren’t happy with Ianto’s very existence.  When they’d gotten into the written histories of the Wizards from the past, they’d learned that the Greats, not only being the fulcrum between Deep Ways and Void, had once believed that no one should manipulate either force, that both the Cardinals and the Voids were committing crimes by exercising their abilities due to their connections to the primal forces of the universe.  It was why the Greats so often fought the other Orders, instead of being that fulcrum that the magic needed.

The three Grand Masters: Ianto; Alexander Pierce, of the Voids; and Stephen Strange, of the Greats, were all trying to change this attitude.  It was an uphill battle, as these rumors had spread before anyone had realized it was happening. 

She was aware that the dissemination of  those stories had been why her friend, Phil Coulson, had gone the way of the Dark One.  However, he was a success story in many ways, moving beyond his childhood indoctrination and revealing the truly good man underneath.

Sighing, Pepper made her way up the short, cobbled walkway to the brightly painted front door, Happy in her arms.  Most of the time, she’d simply Teleport directly into Ianto’s casting chamber, but as she wasn’t expected and hadn’t called ahead, she thought going in through the front door would only be polite.

She juggled the dragon with the grace of long practice, and then used the bright brass knocker in order to announce her presence. 

She didn’t have to wait long. 

The door opened, and to her pleasure she was face-to-face with Eirlys Harkness-Jones, Baroness Gateway and Cardinal Wizard, the older woman’s blue eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled in greeting.  “Mistress Pepper!” she exclaimed.  “Please, come in.”

“Thank you, Eirlys.”  Pepper took the invitation, stepping over the threshold, the magic of the house welcoming her inside.  “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Eirlys shrugged.  “I’m scheduled for a meeting in half an hour, but I thought I’d stop by and have a bit of lunch with Tad.  You know how he can be like when he’s distracted.”

Pepper laughed.  Ianto often forgot to eat if he was in the midst of something interesting.

The house was as warm and comfortable as always.  Pepper knew that Ianto had laid the spell work himself, and the power thrummed peacefully against her own magical senses.  Someday, she hoped to be able to cast such intricate magicks, but she suspected that it would take many more years than she actually had left in her life to gain the ability.

Eirlys’ dragon, Corona, his scales all blues and greens, took his turn greeting Pepper and Happy.  Corona was one of the larger dragons, his head coming up to Eirlys’ shoulder, and Happy instantly jumped from Pepper’s grasp to land on Corona’s large head, looking almost like some sort of scaly hat.  Corona hummed in pleasure at the attention from the smaller dragon.

“I hate to stop by unannounced,” Pepper began, “but I really need to speak to your father.  Is he busy at the moment?”

Eirlys nodded.  “He’s in his study.  Dad’s off with his team, and Tad’s a bit put out by having to stay so he’s been working on some translations he’s been putting off.”

Pepper knew that Jack often went off with his hand-picked band of troubleshooters, going where Their Majesties sent, and that Ianto would usually go with him.  Honestly, Pepper was glad that Ianto was at home, although she would have tracked him down if need be.  “Why didn’t Ianto go along?”

“Tad has a meeting with the Baroness Cardiff,” Eirlys explained.  “They’re talking again about transferring the last of Castle Torchwood’s Archives here to Gateway.”

That had been a sore point almost from the very beginning.  Back before Ianto had realized he was a Wizard, he’d been Head Archivist for Torchwood Castle, which had been the only repository of magical artifacts and documents left in the United Kingdom at that time.  When he’d come into his power, it had set off a conflict between himself and the Baroness who’d been in charge there at the time, Gwen Cooper-Williams, Baroness Cardiff.  One of the things that the then-Rulers of the United Kingdom had proclaimed was that the entirety of the magical artifacts that Torchwood had collected over the centuries were to be moved to Gateway.  Baroness Gwen had protested and, to this day, the Archives at Castle Torchwood still contained items that should have been moved years ago.

“Does he really think he’ll get anywhere?” Pepper inquired.

Eirlys shrugged.  “Baroness Anwen seems amenable.  We’ll see.”

Leaving the dragons to cuddle in the front room, Eirlys led Pepper back through the house, past a kitchen, dining room, and a door that was so heavily warded that, if the Cardinal Wizard hadn’t already known it led to Grand Master Ianto’s personal casting chamber, it would have been an easy guess to make. 

The study was at the back of the large house.  Pepper had been there many times in the past; she’d been one of the Grand Master’s own Novices, and she thought of Ianto as a surrogate uncle in many ways. 

Eirlys knocked on the partially open door’s frame, announcing them.  “Tad, Mistress Pepper’s here to see you.”

“Send her in.”  The Cardiff accented voice held a hint of surprise.

Pepper pushed the door open the rest of the way.  The study on the other side was bright and airy, lit by a large window that looked out onto an expansive rear garden.  The desk, shelves that lined two of the walls, and decorative tables and display cases were all made of a light-colored wood, gold accoutrements gleaming in the sunlight.  A comfortable sofa had been placed by the fireplace, and a matching chair took up a place in front of the large desk.  The place smelled of paper and books and ink, and it was still like coming home, even after all these years. 

Myfanwy, the red and gold dragon that was sprawled out of the sofa, raised her head, green eyes whirling in delight, before she clambered down from her perch to make her way over for some welcoming attention.  Pepper obliged her, saying, “Happy would be here, but Corona stole him for a dragon pile in the front room.”

Myfanwy made an excited chirping sound, and was gone out of the door like a shot, squeezing past a laughing Eirlys.

“You’ve done it now,” the man at the desk chuckled.  “There’s nothing that Myfanwy likes more than a dragon pile.”

“What dragon doesn’t?” Pepper laughed.

Ianto Jones, Grand Master of the Cardinal Order, looked to be in his mid-twenties, with dark curly hair and blue eyes that that were ringed with gold behind a pair of spectacles that gleamed magically in Pepper’s senses.  Those eyes were smiling as he rose from his chair, removing the gold-rimmed spectacles – they would translate any language, and had been the first artifact Ianto had figured out how to work with – and leaving them on top of the scroll he’d been perusing in order to collect his own hug.  Even through her robes, Pepper could feel Ianto’s magic tingling against her skin, and she sank into the familiar sensation, sighing.

He pulled away, his eyes studying her closely.  “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t a social call?”

“Because it isn’t,”  Pepper admitted.

When Nick had told them about Hydra, Pepper had realized there wasn’t any way she could hide this sort of thing from Ianto.  And, not because he was the Head of all the Cardinal Wizards on the face of their world; this would be personal to him, as his husband was the Deathless that Hydra was attempting to recreate.

“I’ll fetch you both some tea,” Eirlys volunteered.

There was something vaguely wrong with a sitting Baroness serving them tea, but Pepper wasn’t about to turn her down.  “That sounds lovely.  I admit, I need a one.”  A part of her was disappointed that it wasn’t a cup of Ianto’s exquisite coffee, but honestly the Wizard wasn’t certain she could handle something that strong at the moment.

“Have a seat and we’ll talk.”

Ianto gestured her toward the sofa that Myfanwy had abandoned, sitting down beside her. When she’d first come to the Wizard School, Pepper remembered having such a crush on him, but that had faded when he’d become her teacher…and a surrogate uncle of sorts, not that he looked that old.  Truth be known, Ianto Jones was well over one hundred years of age, although there were times when he didn’t act like that…especially when Jack was around.  They were like a pair of horny teenagers…or newly married, when in fact they’d been together for decades, and had had a child together, thanks to magic.

“Now,” he urged, “tell me what’s bothering you.”

And so, Pepper explained.  She told Ianto everything she’d discovered while speaking with Nick: about Hydra, them trying to recruit Phil Coulson, and how he’d gone along with it in order to get more information on this new, mysterious, cabal.  Ianto’s expression grew more and more troubled as she went on, and at one point Eirlys came back in, with the tea tray, and with a simple gesture the Grand Master had a table sliding across the room to stop just in front of him.  Eirlys set the tea things down on it, and then left them again, quietly shutting the door behind her.   

Pepper stopped her recitation long enough to accept the cup of tea Ianto offered then, after a sip, she finished her story, enjoying the rich flavor just barely muted by the splash of cream she usually enjoyed.  It was gratifying that he’d remembered.

“And Baron Nicholas definitely mentioned the Deathless?” he probed after she was done.

“He did.  At first, I thought it might have more to do with you, but Jack was the one Hydra wanted to recreate.  I have to admit, the Hawk did ask an interesting question about you and the balance and if it was so wrong to have an immortal Void Wizard as well…”

Ianto shook his head.  “That…has often crossed my mind that, if I was immortal, then there must be someone out there like me, only opposite in power, but I’ve never found them.”  He settled back against the sofa, taking a sip of his own tea.  “And, if they’re using the Deathless as a prototype, then they must not be aware that Jack already has someone out there that balances his own power.”

Pepper raised her eyebrows at that.  “I wasn’t aware of it, either.”  It wasn’t as surprising as it should have been.  After all, the world works in balances, and the Deathless was extremely powerful.  There would almost have to be _someone_ to equal Jack Harkness.

The Grand Master nodded.  “There’s an entity out there, in the form of a little girl, who’s Jack’s opposite.  She’s called the Unearthly Child, and we’ve met her on occasion.  She’s…well, honestly, she’s a little creepy, and it has nothing to do with her powers of prophecy.”  He shook his head.  “No matter.  These Hydra Voids couldn’t replicate what caused Jack’s Deathlessness, no matter how hard they’d try.  The Void just doesn’t work that way.  Still, it’s a bothersome notion.”  He met her gaze.  “Tell me…do you believe that Master Phil is up to this task he’s set himself?”

One of the first things Pepper had done, when she’d learned just who Master Phil Coulson was, was report to her own Head of Order.  Ianto had been happy to hear that Phil had made a change in his life; he’d been a witness to the younger student’s descent into darkness, and had mourned along with Novice Phil’s teaching Master, Mistress Suzie Costello.  In fact, Mistress Suzie had been set to retire from teaching until Phil had arrived, but she’d seen something in him that had prevented her from her well-deserved rest.  After all, Mistress Suzie had been well over one hundred herself, the magic the only thing keeping her frail body going. 

However, she’d passed away, not long after Phil had left the school.  Pepper had done a little research, and she had to wonder if Mistress Suzie’s failure had finally led to her heart giving out.  No one knew that her student, Novice Phillip, and the Dark One were the same person, and Pepper really wanted to keep it that way.

“I do,” she asserted.  “Master Phil is a good man.  He might not always have been like that, but I’ve seen him around his daughter, and he’s completely different from the man who’d rampaged through the Western Lands.  I trust him to do this.”

Ianto looked introspective.  “For now, I’m not going to say anything to my counterparts.  We don’t want to risk this getting out.  Grand Master Stephen is a Great and, while he’s been doing his best to combat the rampant discrimination perpetrated by his own Order against the Cardinals and Voids, too much could go wrong if we shared this; besides, it would be within Mistress Maria’s bailiwick to report this to him.  As for Grand Master Alexander…I hate to say, but we cannot trust that he could let this knowledge slip to members of the Void Order.  He’s a proponent of transparency in matters of magic, so he could very well tip the hands of these Void Wizards although it would be with the best of intentions.”

That made sense. They couldn’t risk Phil’s life with a case of loose lips.  Pepper was glad he’d said that, because it just reinforced her own decision not to share beyond her old teaching Master. 

“And what about Novice Daisy?” Ianto inquired.

“I let the Hawk know that she’d be welcome to stay with me for the time being.”

“Excellent.  While I don’t want to think anything could go wrong…”

He didn’t have to continue.  Pepper knew exactly what he wasn’t saying.  If something happened to Phil, Daisy would need someone to look after her, and who better than her own teaching Master?  It would have been Pepper’s duty in any case.

Melinda May was just the person needed in a fight, but there was only so much she could do against magic.

“I’m going to contact Jack,” Ianto continued.  “Have him keep a lookout in case they decide to strike against him.  He might be Deathless, but he can still be hurt.”

Pepper agreed.  While she’d never seen Jack’s Deathlessness displayed, she knew the basics.  Jack could still die…he just didn’t stay that way.  Honestly, she considered the whole thing horrific, to not be able to stay dead. 

There had been a time when Ianto had confided in her that, if anything happened and his husband stayed dead, that he would sever his connection to the Deep Ways in order to join Jack in the final death.  It was unbelievably romantic, knowing the only reason Ianto hadn’t made the ultimate decision so far was because he wasn’t about to leave Jack on his own.

“In the meantime,” the Grand Master said, “let Master Phil do his undercover work.  At least he has someone watching his back.  But, I want to be kept informed.  If, Gods forbid, something does go wrong…and I’m not just thinking about Jack, here.  Master Phil has a daughter.  I’m certain he’s thought of Novice Daisy in his consideration of his actions, but he cannot risk himself if he can avoid it.  We may need to organize a rescue.”

Pepper slumped in relief.  Not that she hadn’t expected Ianto to say something along those thoughts, but she was still grateful for his words.  Master Phil, while she couldn’t pretend to know him all that well – except for the less savory areas of his past – she did feel  he was well on his way to becoming a good friend.  They’d spoken many times about Daisy’s lessons, him giving her valuable input on the gauntlets he’d devised for her, when it had proved necessary to help control her powers.  She’d been so very young when they’d manifested in such a destructive way, and he’d done his best for her until she could learn to control it.  The spell work he’d put into those enchanted gauntlets had been truly impressive, and Pepper hadn’t been ashamed to ask him for his help with duplicating them for other students who might have trouble with their magic as well.  So far, they’d worked beyond her wildest dreams for those children with control issues.

“I’ll use the speaking stones or my mirror and let you know as soon as I hear anything,” she promised.

Ianto squeezed her hands, his magic thrumming against her skin pleasantly.  He might have looked younger than her, but this man was like the grandfather she’d never known.  She had faith in him.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

Daisy Coulson had never thought of herself as a good actress, but she must have been if she’d been able to hide her plans from her own father.

Still, Dad had a lot on his mind, and not just this threat from Hydra.  He might not have spoken of Clint Barton to her, but even Daisy could see that the Elf meant a lot to her Dad.  She had to wonder what had happened between them, that he hadn’t told Clint that he was still alive.  It must have seemed important at the time, at least to him.

She remembered vividly being in that alley, on the day that Dad had found her.  Daisy had been terrified by the screaming and burning going on around her, and had only a knife she’d managed to ‘find’ from a man who’d been just as afraid as she was.  Daisy didn’t like to remember the part where she’d been an accomplished pickpocket by age four, but getting the knife had been far too easy.  She also didn’t like to think she’d left someone defenseless when she’d acquired it.

That had been the third orphanage she’d run away from.  None of them had understood her, and the strange things she could do from a very early age. One of the first memories she’d had was of making her only doll dance on its own.  That had also been when she’d learned to keep that sort of thing hidden, because she’d been discovered by one of the other orphans and had gotten a beating for her trouble.  After that, the child Daisy had been had been far more suspicious of anyone.  It had been a hard lesson to learn, but she’d learned it well.

However, there’d been something different about the man who’d discovered her, hiding in that alley.  That man had been just as scared as everyone else, and yet he hadn’t ignored her in favor of running away from the battle.  Daisy may have only been six, but she’d seen in him a kindred soul, someone who’d seen just as much bad as she had.

It hadn’t taken much thought to reach out to him, to accept the man as her new father.

It had been a couple of years later, after her dragon had come to her and he’d made her special gauntlets, that Daisy had figured out that she was just as much a path of redemption to him, as he was to her.  Both of them had had hard lives, and they were doing the best they could to change themselves for the better.  Knowing that had made her love him even more than she had already.  No one had ever been willing to do that for her sake

He’d even been completely honest with Mistress Pepper, when she’d chosen Daisy to be her Novice, although she hadn’t found that out until far after the fact.  Of course, she knew about his past, and what he’d done, but she’d never loved him any less for that.  Uncle Nick had once taken her aside and explained to her, when she was old enough to understand, and Daisy hoped she’d never meet her grandparents, because she was likely to curse them for what they’d done to their own son.  Although, there was a small part of her that was grateful that they’d been so terrible, because if they hadn’t, she might never have met Dad.  There were times she hated herself for that, but she usually got over it pretty quickly, pitying the people who hadn’t been able to see past Dad’s magic to the wonderful person underneath.

Her Dad had done so much for her, loved her so much, that Daisy wasn’t simply going to sit on her hands and do nothing to help him.

She knew the entire story.  There were secret passages in the Keep, and she’d explored them all.  She hadn’t needed spells to listen in on what John Garrett had said to Dad.  Dad knew it, of course he did, but he hadn’t stopped her.  There wasn’t a lot he hid from her, and what he _did_ hide was usually for her own good. 

Daisy didn’t like when that happened, but she did understand why it did.

And yet, he was refusing to let her help.  Dad didn’t care that she’d eavesdropped on their private conversation.  What he _did_ care about was her putting herself in harms’ way for him.

Well, that was too bad.  There was no way he was going to keep her out of this.

Being given the opportunity to go and stay with Mistress Pepper had solidified the plan she’d been considering.  She’d just have to convince her teaching Master that she’d prefer to stay at the school than at Ferrous Castle, which would be a bit of a stretch seeing as she’d never hidden her admiration of Baron Tony’s workshop.  However, she could plead needing to catch up on some basic spell writing, and Mistress Pepper knew it.  She’d just gotten onto her about it the other day.

Daisy headed up to her room, keeping the door open because she didn’t want anyone to think she was trying to be sneaky.  She let Skye curl up on the bed, the dragon’s conviction that Daisy was doing the right thing echoing in her mind as she reached for her rucksack, needing to pack some clothing for her time away from the Keep.  She also needed to remember to take her school books and scrolls with her, because she didn’t want anyone – well, Melinda – to have to bring them to her at school.  That might blow her entire plan, since she didn’t want anyone to notice if she was up to something.

Melinda would.  The Steward was damned spooky in what she could ferret out.

It didn’t take her long to get her things together; after all, she had a lot of ger stuff already in her dormitory room.  Her school uniform stayed in its bag on the hangar, laid out on the bed next to her dragon familiar.  Underwear, casual clothes, and toiletries went into the rucksack, which her Dad had bespelled to hold a bit more than it really should. He’d offered to teach her the magic behind the bag, once she had more school under her belt. 

Daisy could also recall exactly when she discovered that her Dad’s magic was different from hers.  She’d been so bitterly disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to be her teaching Master, simply because the ‘flavor’ of his magic was opposite hers.  Honestly, Daisy hadn’t noticed the difference until it had been pointed out to her; in her mind, this was just her Dad and he was wonderful.  It didn’t matter that his magic was ‘dark’ while hers was ‘light’.  Yes, he could still teach her certain magicks that all Wizards shared, but his were powered differently.  Even before going to school, she’d been taught how to Ward her room and personal belongings, to move objects, to cast Protection and Stunning and a certain Obfuscation Charm that she wasn’t supposed to know, but had come in handy when trying to sneak late-night snacks from the kitchens at school. 

Once she’d gone to Wizard School, though, she’d come to see the difference first-hand.  It had also been the first time she’d run into the prejudices that the older, more powerful, Wizards were trying to combat.  Those first months she’d gotten into fights with both Greats and Cardinals, after they’d made disparaging remarks against Voids, taking each word personally because of how much she adored her father.  After being called to the school twice, Dad had sat her down and had explained that she couldn’t always use her power and her fists to make her point, and the best way to defeat the bullies was to turn their arguments back against them, to show them that all three branches of magic could get along.

That was when Daisy had begun to build up the core group of friends she had now.

It was those friends she was going to turn to now.

“Alright,” Melinda’s voice said from the open doorway, startling Daisy even though she’d expected _someone_ to show up, “just what are you planning?”

Daisy whirled to face her.  Of course, Melinda had worked it out.  There wasn’t a lot that got past Dad’s Steward.  “I’m planning on going back to school.  There’s no need to bother Mistress Pepper.  I can look after myself, I’m not a little kid anymore.”  She put just enough teenage stroppiness into her voice, hoping to convince Melinda that she really wasn’t up to anything.

Melinda didn’t look impressed.  She leaned against the door jamb, arms crossed, her usual resting face a little more severe than usual.  “I know you have something up your sleeve.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  Daisy had a feeling it wasn’t going to work, but she had to try.

“I understand the need to help your father.  Believe me, I do.”

Daisy _knew_ that.  She knew that her Dad and Melinda were old friends, and that she’d given up her own mercenary career in order to come and run things at Shield Keep, bringing Andrew with her. 

“There’s nothing I want more than to go be the one to watch Phil’s back,” Melinda continued, “but I also know my place is here, to stay and protect the Keep if necessary.  I’m willing to accept my role in events.  You should, too.”

The girl flopped down on the bed, disturbing Skye just enough for the dragon to grumble about it.  “It’s just…he’s my Dad, and he’s walking into danger and I can’t do a thing about it!”  Despite wanting nothing more than to put on an adult face, she couldn’t help the tears that prickled her eyes. 

Melinda sighed, the stern expression giving away to fondness.  “I feel the same way.  But, at least he’s willing to take the Hawk with him.  Clint will watch his back.”

There had been something about Clint Barton that had had her trusting in his ability to do just that.  “You mean,” she had to tease, “there’s something past the rampant sexual tension between them?”

“It really _is_ that obvious.” 

Daisy laughed at the smirk on Melinda’s face.  “Was it like that? Before?”

“It was worse,” Melinda sighed.  “They’re both oblivious idiots.  I’m hoping that Clint gets past the idea that Phil didn’t tell him about being alive, and they finally get their acts together.”

“But, why didn’t Dad say anything? I’m confused.”

“He’s never really explained, but I suspect it has to do with what happened to him when he faced down Loki.  Something changed in him after that, and I think it has something to do with the fact that there isn’t any sign of a scar, when I know for a fact the stabbing actually took place even if I didn’t witness it.”

Daisy had never seen her Dad shirtless before, because yuck, so she didn’t know there wasn’t a scar.  “But…I remember the blood,” she protested.  It had been all over him, when he’d found her.  She’d been a little freaked out about it, when she’d realized what that dried stuff on his tunic had been, plus the holes in the front and back…Daisy had always believed that he had to have been in that alley a while after it had occurred, because he’d seemed pretty much healed.

“None of us really know what happened,” the Steward answered, “but, according to Nick, everyone involved had known that Phil had actually died.  But he won’t tell anyone what really happened, so we can’t help him.”

“And you think he’d been hiding away because of it?” This echoed Daisy’s own thoughts on the matter, but to her it had more to do with the fact that he’d been an evil murdering dark Wizard and wanting to reform than how he’d actually been killed.

All Daisy knew was that her Dad wasn’t a coward.  And it didn’t have anything to do with him volunteering to walk into a nest of vipers with just an Elven archer at his back.  If anything, that made her so proud of him she could barely keep it inside.

But, it would explain why he’d been hiding out at the Keep for years.  He’d been happy to be a semi-hermit, and not just because of his past as an evil Wizard.  There’d always been something more, and this made so much sense she was surprised she hadn’t thought of it herself.

Melinda didn’t say anything.  But then, she didn’t have to.  Daisy was seeing it, as well.

“Look,” she capitulated, “I can’t promise to keep out of things.  I can promise to be careful.  But Melinda…you can’t ask me to step aside and let Dad just walk into danger.  That’s not me.  He’s my Dad, and I love him, and I want to take care of him the same way he took care of me.”  Not that she actually knew what she was going to do, yet.

She knew she was pleading, but she couldn’t help it.  Melinda couldn’t honestly think she was going to just walk away!  If she did, then she didn’t know Daisy at all well!

Melinda, though, was nodding.  “If your father finds out, he’s going to ground you for the rest of your life.”

Daisy grinned.  “Well, he has to catch me first…”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Phil had changed in the years since Clint has last seen him.

Back then, the Wizard had been angry at the entire world, and that had translated to his appearance.  His eyes had practically blazed with it, as if he wanted to set the entire world afire with his very gaze.  His power was evident in the way he held himself, ready at any moment to attack whoever made just the wrong move… and he had, Clint had been a witness to that hair-trigger temper that would sooner kill first and then ask the question why, later. 

He’d worn a beard back then, a well-trimmed goatee, and it had only made him look more…well, evil, not to put too fine a point to it.  He’d oozed menace from every pore, and there had been times when the very air would crackle with the magic he could control so easily.  _That_ Phil Coulson, called the Dark One, had been dangerous and deadly and hadn’t given a shit about anyone, with a few exceptions. 

Clint had been drawn to him like a moth to a flame.  He couldn’t help himself, even though Phil hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in an Elf who had perfect aim and had made his living as an assassin.

Now, though…it was like looking at a different person.

The fiery anger in his eyes was gone, replaced by a different sort of heat that didn’t burn, but warmed a person through.  There were now fine lines at his eyes that crinkled when he smiled…and this Phil smiled quite a bit, from what Clint had seen so far.  His hair was a little thinner and much shorter, his face clean shaven, and the shadows that had lurked within him seemed to have faded away.

The control was still there, but it was softer, the fires banked, no longer seeming deadly, although Clint didn’t doubt that the Wizard could still kill someone quite easily.  He just didn’t have a need to do that sort of thing now that he’d seemed to have found some sort of inner peace.

That inner softness had communicated itself when Daisy had appeared.  Clint could practically feel the love that radiated from Phil because of the girl who’d become his daughter, replacing the sensation of physical threat that he’d given off as easily as breathing.  Just that single change was enough to make him unrecognizable as the once-most feared Wizard in the Western Lands.

When Phil had been attractive before…now, he was absolutely _devastating_.

Whatever had caused these changes – and, while he was willing to bet that Daisy was responsible for a lot, he couldn’t credit them all to her – Clint wanted to explore more of.  He wanted nothing more than to get to know this version of the man he’d had such a crush on before.  Back then, he and Phil could work together like a well-oiled machine, and had done, but this new person was something else altogether.  He couldn’t wait to see if any of their old rapport had transferred to this new Master Phil Coulson, who was so obviously not the Dark One any longer.

To be honest, the Elf was glad of it.

All that anger, while dead sexy, Clint had known was going to get Phil killed one day.  And he’d believed it had, when the Wizard had gone up against Loki and had lost.  Maybe that had something to do with it as well, he didn’t know. 

He was also glad that Phil was alive, although he still couldn’t quite make up his mind whether to kiss him out of sheer happiness or to punch him in the face for lying about it.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Phil asked, breaking Clint from his thoughts.

He’d led Clint into a fairly fancy study, where he’d gone to a carved credenza against the wall, opening it.  With his superior vision, the Elf could see that there were various bottles within it, as well as glasses.  Phil quirked an eyebrow at him, awaiting his response.

“Sure,” the archer agreed readily.  “I see you have some of that fancy wine Nick likes so well…”

Phil reached in and grabbed the bottle.  “I’m sure you can easily read the label from where you’re standing.”

“Please…you doubt?” Clint asked, teasing.

“You? Never.”

Clint’s heart decided it needed to beat just off pace at that simple confirmation of his abilities.  He hid his pleasure at it by taking a seat on the couch, letting Lola jump up beside him and lay her wedge-shaped head on his thigh, her cooing practically a purr as she relaxed against him.

“This is a nice room,” he complimented, thinking that the place was yet another facet of the new Phil Coulson.  The man he’d known hadn’t been one for accumulating things, and yet the study had those self-same collectibles that the Elf would never have guessed Phil owning.  He particularly was impressed by the artwork of the long-gone hero, Sir Steven Rogers, hanging on one wall.  Back during the time they’d run together, Clint would have said that the Dark One was about as far from the ideals that the Paladin had espoused – according to historical records – as a person could get. 

There was magic as well.  While Clint didn’t have a single magical bone in his body, Elves were closely connected to the universal forces, and that included Deep Ways and Void and elemental magic.  There were several innocuous seeming things on the shelves that were obviously enchanted, even though he couldn’t have said how.

Phil joined him and Lola, handing Clint a glass of the dark-hued wine and then taking the chair next to the sofa.  “Thank you,” the Void Wizard said.  “Being settled has allowed me to indulge in some of my personal passions, and I’m rather afraid I’ve taken full advantage.” He sipped his wine, blue eyes on Clint’s as he did so.

“I wish I’d been here to see it,” the archer blurted before he even knew he’d said it out loud.

He didn’t miss the minute flinch.  “I’m beginning to wonder if I was…wrong, in hiding from my friends.  However, at the time it had seemed the best thing to do.”

“Why did you?”  Clint drank from his own glass; he wasn’t much of a wine drinker, but Marcus knew his grapes.  The wine was rich on his tongue, and he had to take another sip.  “Phil, I…Nat and I…mourned you.” He hoped the man didn’t notice that little slip.  “We would’ve been here in a heartbeat if you’d said anything.”

This time, there wasn’t a flinch; there was a full-on shifting of his weight in the overstuffed chair.  “I…damnit, Clint…I…”

The expression on Phil’s face told Clint that he really did want to say something.  To explain his reasons.  But, it was as if the words were lodged in the Wizard’s throat, unable or unwilling to come out. 

Suddenly, Clint didn’t _want_ to know.  If it was bad enough to make Phil uncomfortable about even considering sharing, then maybe it was something that could and should remain hidden. 

He did wonder if it had to do with his surviving Loki’s attack.  Clint would have bet good money that it was, as this was the root of everything.  Each of them had thought Phil was dead; while the Elf hadn’t actually seen the confrontation, he’d heard about it – from Loki, when he’d been under the crazy Wizard’s thrall – and it had sounded as if it had been a mortal wound.  And yet, he’d somehow survived, and the survival had apparently made Phil self-conscious and unsure of himself.

Phil slumped in his chair, cradling the wine glass to his chest.  Lola, obviously sensing her Wizard’s upset, was away from Clint and sitting next to Phil’s legs, laying her head on his knee, the sad warble she gave him coming close to breaking the Elf’s heart.  Phil rested a slightly trembling hand on Lola’s head, rubbing around the base of her crest, but it was an absent motion, as if he was doing it because it was something he was just used to doing.

“I…” Phil began again, “I was arrogant, Clint.  I honestly believed I could beat Loki.  I stepped into that fight overconfident, without knowing a thing about my opponent.  I…didn’t know he could cast such lifelike illusions.  I…paid for my ego.  I’m sorry…but I can’t say.”  Blue eyes filled with pain met Clint’s own.  “I think I could tell you, but…I can’t.  And it’s nothing to do with you.  It’s me, and my total inability to even mention the details.  No one knows what happened, and maybe, one day, I’ll be _able_ to talk about it, but not now.”

One of his hands released its grip on the glass, to rub his chest right over his heart, as if trying to disperse an invisible source of pain.  And, as Clint watched, Phil’s eyes changed.

The blackness of pupil began to bleed all over, until all there was left was darkness; no blue and no white, and it was like looking into the Void itself.  Not that Clint had ever done that, but he’d been a witness to the Wizard’s power over the Void itself, and it was very much like watching that, especially when a tiny puff of black arose from the corner of his left eye. 

It certainly reminded him of the time they’d come across that Void Point on the western coast.  Clint had heard of them before, but had never seen one: a Void Point was a crack in the universe, a place where the Void oozed into the world, and they were rare…which was a very good thing.  The archer had watched as Phil had stepped into that Void Point, calling the Void to him, making it visible to those who hadn’t had the magic to _see_.  The Void had been like watching a living form of darkness, curling and twisting and _breathing_ while the Wizard with the control to do so summoned it to him in order to make certain the breach was closed.   

If Clint had had any doubt that Phil was a true Master, it had been destroyed as he’d watched the Wizard wrestle with the living Void, laughing as he playfully had it curl about him like a lover, and then he tucked it away back to where it belonged, sealing the wound once it was all gone. 

Afterward, Phil had slept for three days.

The darkness in Phil’s eyes now faded quickly, and Clint wasn’t even certain that the Void Wizard had realized what was happening.

“What the hells was that?” he demanded, worried for the man he still had feelings for.

Phil’s brows drew downward.  “What do you mean?”

“Your eyes…they changed.”

“Changed how?”

The archer had been correct.  Phil hadn’t had a clue about what had just occurred.

“They…went black.  Totally black.  Like the Void had covered them or something.”

Phil was up and out of his chair in an instant, his half full wine glass on the table between the couch and seat, dislodging Lola in his haste; the dragon chirped in questioning concern.  He strode toward the desk, rifling through the drawers until he found what he’d been searching for.

A mirror.

It was palm-sized, but ornately wrought from pure silver.  As Clint watched, the Void Wizard held it up to his face, looking closely at his reflection.

But there wasn’t anything to see anymore.

“It’s gone now,” Clint pointed out, “but it was the strangest thing I’d ever seen.”

Phil dropped the mirror onto the desk with a heavy thump.  His face was pale, and he looked as if he’d been spooked.  “Are you sure it was like that?”  he demanded.  Clint opened his mouth to reply, but Phil held up a hand to stop the archer’s response.  “It’s fine, I’m not doubting you.  You saw what you saw, and now it’s gone.”  He leaned against the desk, the only thing keeping him on his feet was the clenched fists that were propping him up. 

Clint was on his feet instantly, moving past a dragon who was busily freaking out, her cries frightened, keening in both her own terror and her Wizard’s.  He was by Phil’s side just as the man’s elbows buckled, and the Elf practically carried the Void Wizard back to the sofa, putting him down as carefully as he could.  He didn’t even have time to react before Lola was climbing all over her Wizard, her wings shivering and her blue eyes whirling in agitation.

Phil put his arms around her, gathering his familiar to his chest, cuddling her close as if needing to reassure himself that she was there.  “I’m fine,” he mumbled, and Clint wasn’t sure if he was talking to him, or Lola.  “I’m fine.”

While Clint didn’t know much about magic – only what he’d picked up hanging out with a certain Void Wizard, and from his own experiences – he couldn’t help but assume that the eye changing thing was somehow connected to what Phil had been fighting to tell him.  Yes, Clint recognized that struggle as such.  Phil Coulson wasn’t the sort of person who would fumble their words, and that had been far more telling than anything.  He was pretty sure, in that moment, that Phil was incapable of actually speaking about his reasons for faking being dead, and he suspected it was the Void magic keeping it from happening. 

What in the ever-loving _hells_ had happened?

Because it was apparent that Phil hadn’t known about his eyes.  Had they changed before when he’d attempted to tell anyone?  Was Clint the first one to actually notice?  Had Daisy seen it, and dismissed as something to do with the Void magic?

Had Melinda seen it, and not said anything?

And what about Nick?

Clint had so many questions.

Instead, he fetched Phil’s wine and made him take a healthy swig, moving Lola slightly in order to do it. 

“That…that’s the first time I can recall ever feeling like that,” Phil admitted, once the glass was completely empty.  “It was as if I was being stabbed all over again.”  His eyes met Clint’s, and the Elf wished he had a clean handkerchief to lend his friend, if to wipe the suddenly appearing sweat from his brow. 

“What were you thinking?” Clint asked, wanting to comfort Phil himself, so he reached out to rest a hand on the Void Wizard’s trembling shoulder.

“I…”  Phil frowned.  “I don’t remember.”

Clint wanted to prompt him on their conversation, but he didn’t dare.  He didn’t want a repeat of what had just happened, afraid of the outcome.  “I’m not sure you’re up for this mission,” he said instead.

“Nonsense.”  And the shaking was over.  Phil was back to himself, as if nothing had been wrong just moments ago.  “I said I’m fine.”

“Phil…”  He wanted to shake the Wizard in frustration.  Whatever wobbly the Wizard had just pulled was over, as if it had never transpired at all. 

“I said I’m fine!” the Void Wizard snapped. 

Clint pulled back, feeling a little hurt at his friend’s waspishness.  He raised his hands in surrender. 

The anger in Phil’s expression vanished.  “I’m sorry, Clint.  I know you’re worried, but there isn’t anything to worry _about_.  Earlier today, Garrett’s arrival interrupted some very complicated spellcasting, and you know how tiring it is for a Wizard when that happens.  I’m just tired, and I’ll be fine in the morning.”

The archer really didn’t know any such thing, but he was willing to let it lie…for now.  But he was going to keep his eye on Phil, and have a little talk with Melinda about this.  Perhaps she knew more than what Phil was telling…

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

To be honest, Phil was scared.

No…he was _terrified_.

He did his best to hide it, however. 

What had just happened…it really had felt as if Loki’s spear had penetrated his back once more, to emerge from his chest, dripping with his own hearts’ blood.  Phil still had very vivid nightmares about that spear, and seeing the blade when he’d glanced down.

The funny thing was, he hadn’t actually realized that he’d been stabbed until he’d seen that spear tip sticking out of his chest.  He’d felt the pressure against his back, but the pain hadn’t started until he’d become aware of having been killed.  Then it had been all darkness and agony and he’d let the Void take him willingly, suddenly wanting nothing more than to become a part of it forever.

He still wasn’t sure how he’d survived.  He’d seen that spear protrude from his chest.  He’d felt the Void taking him into its embrace.  Plus, he’d awakened in a bloody _morgue_.  It didn’t make any sense for him to have lived through that sort of thing, let alone crawl off that slab and back into the battle that Loki had brought down on them all.

And when he’d snuck out of that damned place, he’d found Daisy in that alley.  He’d understood that he’d been given a second chance to make things right, to wipe away a little of the red that had been painted all over his soul.

Phil just didn’t know how to explain it to Clint, because he didn’t know how to explain it to _himself_.

He didn’t doubt for one moment that Clint had seen what he had.  After all, the Elf’s eyesight was the sharpest Phil had ever known.  There was a reason that Clint saw things that others missed, and was the greatest marksman in the world. 

Phil couldn’t explain it, though.

And there was a hole in his memory of the minutes before Clint had commented upon his eyes changing.

Whatever had caused it.

He wondered if Melinda or Daisy had ever seen anything like it before, then dismissed the notion.  After all, Melinda would have said something at once, and his daughter would have most likely freaked out about it.  Daisy couldn’t really be calm where her Dad was concerned.

Phil shook his head, letting Lola curl up on his lap, even though she was little big to be doing that sort of thing.  He needed the comfort as much as she did at this moment.  He knew he was rationalizing it by telling Clint that he was just overly tired from the interrupted spellcasting and, yes, that _was_ true.  But he was certain that wasn’t what had caused…whatever it was.  But he’d had to say something, especially after his accidental hurting of the archer’s feelings.  He hadn’t meant to be snappish, but he’d been unable to control himself in that moment.  It wasn’t Clint’s fault.  It wasn’t really anyone’s fault, and Phil hadn’t had the right to act out like that.  It had been in the heat of the moment, and apologizing had been the best thing he could do under the circumstances.

Clint was watching him closely, and Phil could see that he wasn’t sure he believed anything the Wizard had said.  Which was fine, because Phil certainly didn’t believe it, either.

The one thing, though…the Void might have rejected _him_ – and he wasn’t at all certain that was what had actually _occurred_ – but Phil had never once considered rejecting the Void.

He wouldn’t have been able to, even if he thought he could actually _do_ it.  The Void was a part of him; coursing through him like his life blood, cradling his soul like the sweetest of lovers.  He could feel it, curled just under his skin, like a cold heat that warmed him even as his body grew chill.  It was darkness and peace and calmness, while at the same time it was passion and fierceness and Phil wouldn’t have known what to do if he’d lost this connection.

It was what the Greats didn’t understand.  They saw the Cardinals and the Voids as being unnatural, as tainting the Deep Ways and the Void by their very touch, using either force to power their spells in ways that the Greats considered perverted. 

That wasn’t the case at all…well, not _all_.

The Void was a part of Phil, an indefinable part that, if gone, would kill him as surely as Loki’s spear should have.  Phil _lived_ the Void, it was him and he was it. There would _be_ no Phil Coulson without the Void.  It existed in his heart and soul and bone and sinew.  He breathed it in with each inhale, and out with each exhale.  He was a creature of Void, a Wizard with a unique connection, and while it had hurt to have been cast out of that cold/warm darkness Phil would never cast it out of his own self.

He hadn’t chosen the Void… it had chosen _him_.  And he would be its servant until the day he finally _did_ die, not its controller like the Greats believed.  The Void _let_ him have access, there was no taking involved.  Phil seriously doubted that the Void would let anyone take from it. 

“I’m fine,” he reassured Clint, who looked as if he didn’t believe a word Phil was saying.  However, in that moment, it was true: he _was_ fine.  Whatever happened was over and done, and they could move on from it.

Certainly, he knew he’d be revisiting events, but for this instant all was well.

At Clint’s look of incredulity, the Void Wizard rolled his eyes.  “I’m not lying, Clint.  I really am fine.”

He was still receiving the side-eye, so he chose to ignore it for the time being…although, there was a tiny, warm spot near his heart that was gratified that, after everything, Clint still had the ability to be concerned for his well-being.

“We need to discuss what’s going to happen next,” he went on, changing the subject back to the reason for the archer’s presence. 

Clint nodded, although Phil got the impression it was only because they needed to talk about it, and not because he was willing to drop the subject.  “I take it that Garrett gave you specific instructions on what to do if you really were serious about joining this Hydra nonsense?”

“Yes, he…” the Phil paused, because he remembered Daisy had been more than happy to listen in on what his meeting with Garrett had been about.  He’d been content to let her, but for this, he really didn’t want her to get any ideas.

Extending a hand, the Void Wizard sent his magic out to the wards around the study, tightening them and activating the masking charm he’d added to the room a long time ago, just in case he’d need it at some point.  It would shroud their conversation from anyone wanting to eavesdrop and, while he didn’t actually sense Daisy in the walls – her Cardinal magic pinged his own even when she was somewhere else in the Keep, and from what he could tell she was in her room – he didn’t want to take the chance that she’d show up in the middle of their conversation.  There were times when he didn’t care if she overheard, but this wasn’t one of those times.

The wards around his study were a comforting web of magic, and it didn’t take him but a heartbeat to make certain they were all in proper order.   Then, his attention was back on his guest, who was watching him closely with a tiny smile on his face.

“What?” he asked, curious as to what had caused that particular expression.

“What?” Clint echoed, the smile morphing into confusion.

“You were…” Apparently, the Elf hadn’t been aware of it, so Phil let it slide.  “Never mind.  Garrett told me that there was going to be a meeting of their cabal as soon as they could get together, and that I was invited to attend.  He gave me an enchanted bracelet that would transport me directly to this meeting and speaking stone to contact me with.”

“There’s nothing else on this thing except the Teleport spell?  Or what about the stone?”

They were valid questions, and Phil had had that exact same concern when he’d accepted the heavy silver band from Garrett.  “I scanned them both for that very reason.  I was very suspicious.  However, it’s just your bog-standard Teleport spell and the speaking stone is simply that.  Nothing else has been added, I made very sure of that.”

What he didn’t say was, that he was surprised by the lack of security on the bracelet or the stone.  Looking at Clint, Phil realized he really didn’t have to.

“Is the bracelet going to allow you a passenger?”

Phil nodded.  “I juiced the power of it a little, when Marcus told me he was sending you along.  And he’s right; going alone would be idiotic.  Me bringing a bodyguard along, one that’s obviously _not_ magical, will hopefully be enough to throw off their expectations a little.  However,” he gave his friend a sly smile, “that doesn’t mean I won’t give you a little magical help.  You already have the ring I created for Marcus.  It will work anywhere, but it will only take you to either the castle in Triskelia or bring you back here, whichever is closest.”

Clint shrugged.  “That’s fine, because if I have to use it I doubt I’m gonna care all that much as long as it gets me out of trouble.  Just don’t expect me to leave you behind.  That’s not gonna happen.”

Phil didn’t point out that the ring would only carry one person.  Mainly because he’d be carrying his own getaway magic.

“I have a few things for you,” the Void Wizard went on, “and I’d like to enchant some of your arrows as well.”

“Sounds good to me.  I take you have some specific ideas in mind?”

“I do.”  With that, Phil settled deeper into the cushions of the leather couch, Lola curled up in his lap, as he explained exactly what he wanted to do.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

Mistress Maria Hill made her way down the street, heading toward the unique appearing house at the middle of the block of other, more normal, looking homes.

Even in this residential area, there was quite a bit of foot traffic.  But then, New Andrade was one of the largest cities in the Western Lands, a major seaport and trading hub, the gateway to the Western Lands.  It was also one of the oldest cities, first settled by people from the United Kingdom and lands farther east, looking for more freedoms than what they had had in their homelands at the time. 

New Andrade was also the Baronial seat of Amdrastan, and if she’d come by horseback it would have taken her three weeks from Triskelia.  Luckily for her, Teleport spells were fairly common, either in a Wizard’s _gramariya_ or via various types of enchanted items, and for a Great Wizard of her caliber it had been simple to cast the magicks that would get her there quickly.  She could have Teleported directly to her destination, but that would have been rude without announcing she was going to arrive first...and might actually ger her cursed before the owner of the house could recognize her as an ally.

The house she was striding toward, Iliad flying overhead, was a multi-story building with an ornately designed circular window in the top floor, looking out over the city.  The spell work around the place was obvious to her, all Protection and Silence and UnPlotability and one that increased the inner dimensions of the place without it being obvious on the outside. 

It was an elegant spell, one that Maria wished was in her repertoire.  However, it was much too powerful for her, and would most likely remain so. 

But it wasn’t for the man who lived in that house.

Taking the steps up to the front door, Maria announced her presence both magically and by using the heavy brass door knocker.  The Silence spell was so good she didn’t even hear the knocker fall from where she was standing, although it would have been loud within.  Iliad landed beside her, chirping curiously.

The maroon painted door opened for her.

Maria couldn’t help but smile.  “Good day, Master Wong.”  She bowed slightly.

No one knew if the man standing in the doorway was a Wizard.  Too many of her colleagues believed that Wong was nothing more than a librarian, which was actually true.  Master Wong, though, was a powerful Great Wizard in his own right, he just didn’t see the need to show off.

Master Wong simply stared at her with that inscrutableness that was natural to him.  He was a little shorter than she was, a little stout but in good physical condition, wearing plain brown robes that fell to his knees, under which were equally brown breeches and flat-heeled boots.  On his belt he had the traditional Wizard’s dagger sheathed at his waist, but there wasn’t any sign of a wand…or a dragon. 

Maria had seen Master Wong’s dragon, but he’d always been cagey on the dragon’s name.  Sometimes she wondered if it actually _had_ a name.

“Mistress Maria,” he greeted her, his voice flat.  “Please, come in.”

He backed away from the open door, letting the Great Wizard and her dragon into the cool interior of the house.  The foyer ran the entire height of the building, and was tiled in a colorful, abstract pattern, leading up to a wide staircase that ran straight up to the second level.  The stairs were rich wood, without benefit of carpet, the bannisters highly polished and gleaming.  The walls were papered in deep blue with gold accents, and there were rooms leading off the foyer; Maria knew – even though she had only been here twice in her life – they led to the dining room, sitting room and, toward the back, a massive library that practically hummed with magic.  There were free-standing shelves and tables with arcane items mixed with kitschy knickknacks on them scattered about, and a couple of leather chairs and sofas decorated the open front area.  Several tall candelabra, with actual candles and not the more usual magical glowglobes, were spaced about the large room, but were not burning as light came in from the large, rounded window, the swooping separators making patterns on the walls and staircase.

“Is Grand Master Stephen available?” she enquired politely.  “I know I’m dropping in unannounced, but it’s important I see him as soon as possible.”

“it must be if you’re here without letting us know you were coming,” Master Wong answered disapprovingly.  “You’re lucky that the Grand Master isn’t busy.”

With that, he headed around the stairs, toward the back of the house…toward the library.  Maria had never actually been within the library before, and found herself looking forward to it.  A Grand Master’s magical collection had to be magnificent.

The door was open, as if the Grand Master had been expecting her…which he might very well have been, as far as Maria knew.  Master Wong ushered her into the immense room, and Maria had to stop and gape at the sheer size of the chamber beyond.  She could now see exactly where the Dimensional Expansion spell had been cast.

The library was nearly five stories high, lined with shelves with rolling steps at intervals.  Books, scrolls, and various other types of documents sat on those shelves, arranged in a system Maria wished she had more time to examine.  There were also glassed-in cases holding all sorts of artifacts, all of them magical, and the Great Wizard wanted to touch each and every one of them, to feel all that ancient power under her fingertips. 

A large skylight took up most of the ceiling, letting in the natural light, which was supplemented by glowglobes that were spaced about the room.  There were chairs and tables spaced out around the library, all of them old and well-worn but cared for.  The entire place buzzed against her magical senses, and she would have given anything to be able to have seen this place without the urgency of her errand hovering over her.

“Mistress Maria,” the voice was behind her, and she spun on her heel at once, ready to defend herself even though she knew she had nothing to worry about in this house.

To cover her surprise, Maria smiled.  “Good day, Grand Master.”

Stephen Strange, Grand Master of Great Order, was older than Maria, with a neat goatee and gray streaking the black hair at his temples.  He was a handsome man, with the faint cast to his skin of the Middle Eastern Empire, although he had the flat Andrade accent.  He was dressed in a blue tunic and black trousers, his magical cloak about his shoulders, and his dagger and wand at his waist along with several pouches and bags that carried various sorts of spell components. 

He greeted her with a welcoming smile.  He moved toward her, hand outstretched, and Maria accepted the handshake, the scars on his hands obvious under her fingers.  The Cloak waved at her as well, and from Iliad’s emotions through their link he wanted nothing more than to play with the enchanted garment.  Still, he obeyed his training and stayed by her side.

It was considered impolite to chase after the Grand Master’s Cloak of Levitation.

The Grand Master’s dragon, Agamotto, was curled around the rungs of one of the ladders.  Agamotto was more of a serpent than a true dragon, and was the only dragon Maria had ever seen that didn’t have wings.  His gold and green scales glittered in the sunlight as he regarded their visitors with silvery eyes.

“I’m sorry for dropping in on you like this,” she apologized.

“If it wasn’t important, I’m sure you would have called first,” Grand Master Stephen quipped.  “Please, let’s sit and you can explain to me what brings you all the way to New Andrade.”

She accepted his invitation to sit, taking one of the comfortable chairs that had been put in front of the fireplace, Iliad curled up at her feet.  Grand Master Stephen took the chair opposite, Agamotto joining his Wizard, draping himself over the back of the chair, those silver eyes still watching closely.

“Master Wong,” the Grand Master said, “would you mind bringing us some tea?”

Maria would have preferred coffee, but it wasn’t to everyone’s taste.  Besides, she liked tea just fine, just not as much.

Wong didn’t look very happy, but then that was his default expression.  He turned and left them alone.

“Now,” the Grand Master urged, “why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you.”

Maria explained everything she’d learned from Nick: about Hydra, and them trying to recreate the Deathless, and about their attempted recruitment of Master Phil Coulson to their cause, only interrupting herself when Wong reappeared with the tea, in a teapot that looked to have been from the Far East. 

“And it turns out that Coulson is actually the Dark One,” she added, a little disgusted with herself for not having figured that out sooner.  She’d never really officially met the Void Wizard, but she _had_ seen him at various meetings and Quorums, and had sensed in him magic a bit more powerful than any other Void she’d ever been acquainted with.  Still, he hadn’t acted as if he was some sort of homicidal maniac, so she could forgive herself for not tumbling onto the fact that he was the one of the vilest creatures in the Western Lands. 

Master Stephen took a sip of his tea.  “Interesting,” he mused.  “And you say Master Phil claimed that this cabal was attempting to create a Void version of the Deathless?”

“It…” she blew out a rough sigh, “it seems impossible.  I mean, we all know how Harkness became Deathless, and I can’t see anyone being able to replicate that.”

“You’d be right about that.  Mortals can’t do it; Lady Rose had, according to reports, been an exceptional young woman performing under the most remarkable of circumstances.  There truly is no way to replicate the exact events that led to the Deathless.”

“One of the people in that meeting asked if it would be such a bad thing.”  Maria had begun to consider what the Hawk had asked, back in Nick’s sitting room, because in a way, he was right.  “That we’ve all learned that there’s a balance to the universe, and wouldn’t it make sense to have another Deathless to balance out Harkness.”  The Hawk had actually been talking about Grand Master Ianto, but it still fit the circumstances.

Master Stephen gave her a rather enigmatic smile.  “And you think the universe hasn’t already corrected that exact thing?”

Maria felt her jaw drop.   “If that was the case, why don’t we know about it?”

The Grand Master arced an eyebrow at her, as if that was more than enough of an answer.

It wasn’t, and the Great Wizard wasn’t afraid to say it.

“There is a being called the Unearthly Child,” Master Stephen explained indulgently.  “According to Captain Harkness himself, she admitted it to him during the events of Genosha reappearing a century ago.”

Alright.  Maria had to nod, even though this really didn’t answer anything.  Perhaps this Unearthly Child had been a resident of Genosha, the co-called Island of Magic, that had vanished over a thousand years ago and then reappeared in the middle of the ocean about a century back, causing a great deal of coastal destruction by the ensuing tidal wave that had hit nearly every country around the oceanic rim… including New Andrade itself.  Now, the people who lived there were fully integrated back into the world, and had given much of its magical knowledge to the Wizard’s Guilds as a gift, even if they were still a bit insular.

Dragons also were born on Genosha, and would travel through magical portals to their intended Wizards.  As there hadn’t been but a handful of Wizards at that point, no one had really given it much thought.  Now, however, there were nests all over the world, all using the same magical portal system to find their Wizards when the time was right.  Maria reached over and rubbed Iliad’s head, glad that she’d been one of the privileged few to receive one.

“I know of the Child because Grand Master Ianto has actually met her,” Master Stephen continued.  “I, personally, have not, but I would like to someday.  I understand she has quite the gift of prophecy as well.”  He sipped from his teacup again.  “To change the subject, I get the impression that you don’t trust this Master Phil Coulson because he was once the Dark One.”

“Of course I don’t trust him.  Even if he hadn’t done what he’d done in the past, just the fact that he’s a Void should have precluded anyone from trusting him.”

Master Stephen shook his head sadly.  “It seems as if your teaching Master truly was successful in selling you on that old, incorrect, rhetoric against the Voids.”

Maria bristled.  Master Thaddeus Ross had been a wonderful teaching Master, and she didn’t like the Grand Master speaking against him.

Before she could rebut what Master Stephen had said, he was speaking again.  “Do you know, I didn’t want you to become the Head of Great Order?  Because I believed you were too inflexible in your attitude toward both the Cardinal and Void Orders, and we needed more progressive thought in that position instead of the same, hidebound, attitudes that you were indoctrinated with.”

The Great Wizard was shocked by what she’d just heard.  Master Stephen, the Grand Master of her very order, had wanted the Quorum vote to go against her?  And she was just now hearing about this?  Maria couldn’t believe how utterly angry she was at his words, and Iliad reacted to her anger, hissing at the Grand Master.  Maria slammed the cup down on the table beside her chair, not caring that she cracked the ceramic, rising to her feet with the urge to storm out. 

Master Stephen, though, didn’t seem at all bothered by her temper.  “Sit down, Mistress Maria,” he ordered, sounding pleasant and yet there was enough force behind the request that she obeyed without realizing she was doing it.  “Don’t even pretend you didn’t at least suspect that there were those among your own order that felt you weren’t the proper person for the position.  And, despite my personal feelings on the matter, I have always supported you.  However, you are so bound up in the old stories that you haven’t bothered to question if they’re _correct_.”

“The old records state that controlling the Deep Ways and the Void is wrong,” she snapped.  “No one should have that much control over such fundamental forces.”

“I think it’s far past time I give you a lesson in the facts of the universe.”  With that, Master Stephen stood and walked toward one of the shelves, taking down a book bound in rich blue leather and bringing it back, handing it to Maria.  She accepted it, feeling the magic in the book tingling against her palms.

There was no title pressed into the leather; only a gold leaf design inset in the exact center: a circle, within which was a figure eight with different layers to it. 

“That,” the Grand Master said, taking his seat once more, careful of the dragon still perched on the back, “is the memoir of a certain Master John Smith, a Wizard of our own order.”

“ _The_ John Smith?” she whispered in awe, every single bit of anger leaving her as the implications of what she was holding struck her. 

The story of Master John Smith was as convoluted as it was wonderful.  It was compulsory learning with the Master Great Wizards who taught history, a cautionary tale on taking fate into a person’s own hands and what damage that sort of thing would do; of playing God and paying the ultimate price.

Master John had been the friend of the man who would become the Deathless.  He had been the lover of Lady Rose Tyler, the woman who’d changed their friend into the immortal who still walked the world, because she’d taken on a power and hadn’t had enough control to use it properly. 

Master John had also been able to travel in time.

He’d seen a time when the Wizards had destroyed the world in their bid for ultimate power.  The few Wizards left had implored him to change the future, giving him a spell that would lock magic away, so that no one would be able to use it.

The spell had been flawed.

In order to make it work, Master John had had to give up his own name, so he went to a time where no one would remember him.  Then he cast the spell, thinking he’d done the only thing he possibly could, calling himself the Doctor from that moment on.

The problem was, not everyone who remembered him was dead.

There was the Deathless.

Eventually, the magic broke through the bonds that had held it, giving birth to the first Wizards in an age: Harold Saxon, Void Wizard; and Ianto Jones, Cardinal Wizard.  It had led to where they were now, with new Wizards being born every day. 

“Master John once believed as you do,” Master Stephen said.  “He believed that using the Deep Ways and the Void was a sacrilege, and that no one should do it.  However, he came to the conclusion that he was wrong, and that memoir explains just how he arrived at that decision.”

Master Maria frowned.  “Why haven’t I seen this before now?”  She had no doubt that he was telling the truth.  She could tell just from the magic that surrounded the book; she was familiar with the long-gone Great Wizard’s magical signature, having had the honor of seeing some of his surviving spells on a couple of items at the Guild House.  This journal had belonged to Master John Smith, it was obvious.

“Because that is the only copy left in existence.  The others have all been destroyed, because there are certain factions among the Great Wizard who don’t want the truth to come out…and that includes Master Thaddeus.”

“I…don’t understand.”  She didn’t.  It didn’t make sense.  Why would her own order want to do something like that?

“It’s all about power, and prestige.  As I’m sure you’re aware, the Cardinals and Voids _combined_ are equal to the number of Great Wizards.”

She did know that.  The Greats were supposed to walk the edge of the coin, with the Cardinal Wizards on one face and the Void Wizards on the other.  And yet, there has always been more Great Wizards than the other two orders. 

“Master John, in his book, says that, in his own home time, the Cardinals and Voids had long been gone, with only the Greats remaining.  While we cannot be certain, my fellow Grand Masters and I believe that the Greats manipulated things so that the other two orders died out.  Master John says practically the same thing in there.”  He gestured toward the book clutched in Maria’s hands.  “You see, the Cardinals and the Voids don’t control those elements, Mistress Maria…they are an actual _part_ of the Deep Ways and the Void, and they cannot live without either one.  The Deep Ways and the Void flow through each and every one, like their own life’s blood.  You cannot separate them from the ancient powers without killing those Wizards who are a very part of those forces.  Unlike a Great Wizard, who can be separated from the primal magic and survive.  Doing any such thing would kill the Cardinal or Void Wizard involved.  And Master John writes about that very thing happening.”  He gave her a look.  “You don’t honestly think that Grand Master Ianto would _want_ to extend his life the way it is?  Or the Deathless, for that matter?  They have no choice.  The Deep Ways are a part of their very souls.”

Maria was stunned.  She’d been taught that the Cardinals and the Voids were simply given the ability to manipulate the Deep Ways and the Void, and that it was inherently wrong to do so.  One simply didn’t play with such powerful forces and not risk their very soul.  It had made so much sense to her at the time, but if that wasn’t true…

Oh, she’d heard this sort of thing before, but had discounted it as propaganda spread about by the Cardinals and Voids.  However, her own Grand Master was saying it and, if he was speaking truly, Master John Smith had said the very same thing in his book. 

The very book she was cradling in her hands.

Her very world was tipping in a completely different direction.  It was something she hadn’t even considered when she’d come to the conclusion that she needed to tell the Grand Master of her Order what she’d learned at Nick’s castle. 

“And this, with the Voids wanting to somehow attempt to recreate the Deathless, would play right into our very order’s hands, especially after the determined discrediting they have been perpetrating against the Cardinals and the Voids.”

“Can’t you stop it?”  There had to be a way…Maria could see it, now that Master Stephen had pointed it out, and she was ashamed of herself for believing the myths of the past.  It was going to take a lot for her to get out of the mindset of her previous lessons, and the beliefs of a lifetime, and it wasn’t going to be easy for her to curb her own behavior, but she could see it needed to be done.  If only she’d listened before now…

“I’ve tried,” Master Stephen admitted.  “I’ve done what I can to change the minds of our order, but the lies are now too pervasive.  My predecessor didn’t help with things, but it wasn’t because she believed it herself…she simply thought it wouldn’t come to be as bad as it is now.”

What he’d said…it made her think about what Nick had revealed about Coulson…about Master Phil, and maybe she should get used to giving him the respect she should, even if he’d once been the most evil of all the Voids since the first.  “Nick – Baron Triskelia – told me that Master Phil had been cursed from the moment his parents had found out he was a Void Wizard, because of the propaganda put out by the Great Wizards.  They had him convinced he was evil by the time he got to school…”

Master Stephen’s dark eyes were sad.  “I’m only surprised this doesn’t happen more often.  But, you say he’s willing to infiltrate Hydra in order to discover what they’re up to?”

Maria nodded.  “Nick trusts him, as does Mistress Pepper…who seemed to have known just who this Master Phil is, because she’s his daughter’s teaching Master.”

A single eyebrow rose.  “Are you saying that Mistress Pepper…” His voice faded out.  “Oh, this must be the Novice Daisy she’s fond of going on about, although she’s never given a last name for her most promising student.  And she’s the daughter of a Void Wizard?  That doesn’t usually happen, as magic types run in families…”

“Novice Daisy is adopted.  From what I was able to learn, she was an orphan that Master Phil found and raised as his own.  Nick…he said that Daisy saved the man’s life.  It showed him that he could be both a good man _and_ a Void Wizard.”

“That is what it certainly sounds like.”  Master Stephen set his empty tea cup aside.  “Look, I understand the sheer hatred that the Dark One engendered in people.  The things he did were vile.  However, it sounds as if he’s changed, and I’ve always been fond of second chances, after getting one of my own.  I know you were hoping I’d somehow condemn this plan, because of Master Phil’s involvement – “

That had Maria wondering just how easy she was to read…

“But I think this is the best way to figure out what exactly is happening.”

Her head was telling her that he was correct, but her heart still held all those prejudices that she’d learned at her master’s feet.  She clutched the book in her lap, knowing it was going to take some time for her to digest what the Grand Master had told her. 

“I believe I would like to meet this Master Phil when this is all over,” Master Stephen said.  “It seems to me that he perfectly embodies the balance: a Void Wizard with a Cardinal daughter.  That is what we need during this time of schisms within the orders.”

“Even though he was responsible for so much death and destruction?” Maria asked, amazed.

“Any man who can turn his entire life around, after being in the darkness for so long, is a man to be admired.  It is rare for someone to be able to remake themselves, and for love…yes, Master Phil is a singular person indeed.  I would definitely like to make his acquaintance.”

“So you’re saying you think he shouldn’t face any sort of consequences for his actions?”  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“There are many more ways of punishment than standing trial for your crimes,” the Grand Master said serenely.  “And, if Master Phil truly has had a change of heart, I can guarantee he’s suffered many of those sorts of punishments, and every single one of them is self-inflicted.”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

Daisy loved Gateway.

She could feel the Deep Ways thrumming through the city, like an extra heartbeat in her chest.  The place was bathed in that primordial magic, and every time Daisy arrived after being gone, even for a couple of hours, it felt as if she’d regained a part of herself that she didn’t know was missing until it was there again.

She’d said goodbye to her Dad and had used the Teleport spell that every student had been granted to return to Gateway, claiming that she’d wanted to go back to the school first instead of leaving directly for the Stark Barony of Ferrous and Mistress Pepper’s manor.  It hadn’t been a lie, really…only one of omission, because she wasn’t about to explain to her Dad that she was hoping she’d be able to help in some way, and going to Barony Ferrous would defeat that purpose.  Daisy wasn’t sure how yet, but then that was what her friends were for, to help her come up with some sort of plan.

Although, her Dad’s friend, Clint Barton, seemed to have guessed she was up to something, judging from the wink he’d given her just before she’d teleported back to Gateway.

Judging from the subtle glances her Dad was giving the Elf though, Daisy had to wonder if they really were more than _just_ friends.  Not that he’d ever admit such a thing to her.

All students were required to arrive in the approved areas, to avoid people popping in and out of places they shouldn’t be.  That area was on the lowermost floor of the appropriate student dormitory, next door to the Wizard’s Tower itself.  The student spell on the pendant that Daisy wore kept her from accidentally teleporting into someone else also arriving, so she knew she was safe, but at the same time there were horror stories of those who’s merged with others who were also teleporting into the large chamber.  That sort of death was always described as horrific.

No one was waiting for her, but that was to be expected.  Daisy hadn’t actually contacted any of her friends to let them know she was coming.  Still, at this time of day – it was early evening at Gateway, due to the time difference between Shield Keep, where it had been late morning, and here – most everyone would have been in their dorm rooms, with class over for the day, if this wasn’t one of the two free days all students had every week.  The dormitory would have been mostly empty, with the kids taking the time to visit their families.

There were times when Daisy was curious about how everyone had dealt with having to stay there year-round before the advent of the individual teleporting spell.  From what she’d learned, back then the students would stay in Gateway for nine months out of the year, returning home for three months and then returning for more classes in the fall.  Sometimes it would take them weeks to go to and fro. 

Now, students could actually leave the school for overnight visits home.  Most didn’t really do that sort of thing, preferring to stay in the dormitories during the week and then head home for their days off.  She could only imagine it must be so much easier on the teachers as well as the students and their families, for them to have the freedom of Teleporting magic.

Daisy left the arrivals room, Skye perched on her shoulder, taking the stairs up to her floor.  This particular building was for the Cardinal students; there were two other dormitories, one for Great Wizards and the other for Voids.  Daisy didn’t care for the fact that they were all so segregated, especially since it seemed to cause wedges between the three orders, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it except to join some of the protests that took place about the issue. 

She was quite the enthusiastic protester.   As were her friends.

Since there were so few Cardinal students in Gateway, Daisy was actually able to have her own room.  The Voids were the same in their own dormitories.  But the Great Wizards often had twice as many students, and rooms were shared.

It hadn’t escaped Daisy’s notice, that disparity of magic.  It was even in her group of friends.  She was the only Cardinal Wizard; Trip, the only Void.  Jemma and Leo were both Great Wizards, as was Lincoln, the guy Daisy was sort-of dating.  There’d been another Void Wizard at one point, but no one talked about Grant Ward, not after what he’d done.

She hadn’t told her Dad about what had happened.  She’d been afraid that Dad would hunt Ward down and kill him.  Although, she suspected he knew _something_ had happened, since Ward had never come home with the group again. And she wouldn’t have put it past Mistress Pepper to have said something, either, just because she was responsible for Daisy’s well-being.  She’d also had to testify at Ward’s tribunal, and there was _no way_ Dad didn’t know something about that.

Depositing her bag down on her bed, Daisy then left her room, making certain the wards were up and functioning.  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her fellow Cardinals – alright, maybe she didn’t – but there were those who were particularly fond of practical jokes.  Daisy had got caught once with molasses in her sheets.  It wasn’t going to happen again.  Dad had taught her these wards, and they were really good ones.  They’d already caught three juniors trying to sneak into her room for nefarious purposes.

Of all her friends, she could guess where Jemma and Leo would be with the most certainty.  They never went home on their days off; Leo didn’t get along with his dad and, while he hadn’t come out and said anything, Daisy could guess that the elder Fitz was an asshole of monumental proportions who was always on Leo’s back for something.  Coming to the Wizard School had been Leo’s escape from that toxic situation.

Jemma, of course, wouldn’t let him be alone.  It was horribly cute.  She’d invited him to her own home often, and he’d gone a couple of times, but Leo was just self-effacing enough that he felt he was intruding.  So, she’d stay around when Leo did, and her family understood even though they were missing her.

Chances were, the pair of them would either be in one of the laboratories or the library.  Daisy started with the lab, since Jemma had said something about practicing her Enhancement potion for their next exams.

And it turned out she was right.

Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons were Elves.  As such, they both looked incredibly delicate, with their large pointed ears and graceful hands and, well, she was confident enough in her own sexuality to think they were _both_ gorgeous.  Looking in through the glass window into the lab, she found herself comparing them to her Dad’s friend, and found she couldn’t.  While Clint Barton had also been Elven, he’d been all muscle and solidness and with a face that looked as if it had lived a lot in his life.  Jemma and Leo hadn’t really been outside their own Elven Enclave before coming to the school, and were still innocent and soft.

Leo noticed her standing there, and waved for her to come in.  The pair were leaning over a cauldron, which was positioned on a tripod in order for it to dangle over a small flame.  Potion ingredients were laid out in orderly rows on the long laboratory bench, the stone surface of which had been warded against most catastrophic damage done by eager young students.

She was greeted by their dragons, Professor and Turbo; Professor was all shades of yellow and about as large as a hunting dog; while Turbo was gray and black and small enough to be able to ride on Professor’s back.  Skye got in on the dragon-love action, and the three dragons curled up together away from what could very well become chaos at the lab bench, if what Daisy was noticing was true.

“You should be probably using the _malas_ root instead of the _orcis_ ,” Daisy commented as she came into the lab.

Jemma huffed, straightening up from her hunched position over the cauldron.  “Well, damn.  I thought I’d gotten the _malas_.”  She removed the protective glasses she was wearing, giving Daisy a tired smile.  “I’m never going to get this right.”

Jemma was a genius.  Daisy – and pretty much everyone else – knew this.  However, the potion she was attempting was a Master-level magic, so Daisy felt she shouldn’t be so hard on herself…and she said so out loud.

“I know,” her friend sighed, gently removing the pile of shaved _orcis_ root from its place on the bench.  “It’s just that I really wanted to learn this spell.  It would get me extra credit on exams if I can make it.”

“I’ll get the _malas_ for you,” Leo volunteered, as Jemma replaced the _orcis_ in its leather bag.

“It isn’t like it’s marked on the bag or anything,” Jemma snarked, the barbs aimed squarely at herself.  “The last I checked, I was quite capable of reading enchanted embroidery.”

“You’ll get it,” Daisy said confidently.  It wasn’t false confidence, either.

Leo rummaged around in the cabinets that lined one wall of the lab, finding what he was looking for and bringing it back to his partner.  Jemma thanked him, and Leo nodded, collecting the bag of _orcis_ root and taking it back to where it belonged.  It wouldn’t do to get them mixed up again.

“At least you caught it before I’d actually added the wrong ingredient. How did you know, anyway?”

“My Dad’s made it before, and I watched him do it.”  Her Dad was always teaching her things, spells and such that she could use without the taint of the Void on them.  She wouldn’t have been able to use that sort of thing anyway; Cardinals couldn’t use Void-infused spells, and vice versa. 

“Speaking of your Dad,” Leo commented, rejoining them, “we thought you were going to be spending your days off at home.”

“I was.  But something came up.”

Glancing around, Daisy took in the wards on the lab.  She reached out with her own magic, adding a little of the Deep Ways into the mix, and strengthened the Silence spell enough where no one would be able to overhear.  When she turned back to her friends, both Elves were staring at her in surprise and curiosity, with a generous dollop of awe thrown in.

Daisy found herself blushing a little.  She wasn’t shy about her magic, but it still threw her off when anyone reacted like she was something special, when she really wasn’t.  “I didn’t want anyone to listen in,” she explained, sounding a little defensive.

“It must be fairly important then,” Jemma replied in understanding, that expression gone and replaced by straight curiosity.

So, Daisy explained about what she’d overheard back home.  About Master John Garrett showing up on their doorstep, and his reason for just showing up without any warning or invitation.  Him mentioning this Hydra group, and their wanting to recreate the Deathless.  It all sounded melodramatic as she told her friends the story, but it had really happened and she could only hope that the Elves would believe her.

Both Jemma and Leo were downright staring by the time she was done.  Daisy mentally crossed her fingers at their reaction.

“Someone really wants to make another Deathless?” Jemma exclaimed, but not in a disbelieving way.  It had Daisy heaving a sigh of relief.

“Who would want to do something like that?” Leo demanded.  “Are they mental?”

That had Daisy laughing.  “Apparently they are.”

“What did your father say?” Jemma asked.

“He went along with it, and then reported to Uncle Nick.”  She didn’t elaborate on just who Uncle Nick was.  They were very well aware of who Nicholas of Triskelia was to her.  “He’s planning on spying on them.”

“That’s certainly very brave of him,” Jemma said.

“Or stupid,” Leo muttered.

She would have hit him for that, if Leo wasn’t actually right.  So many things could go wrong, and Daisy wasn’t ready to lose her Dad just yet.

Who was she kidding?  She _never_ wanted to lose him.

“Leo!” Jemma shouted, scandalized.

“No, he’s right.  It’s dangerous, and Dad isn’t a trained spy.” 

Daisy didn’t mention anything about her Dad being the Dark One.  It wasn’t her story to tell and, besides, if he’d wanted anyone to know he wouldn’t have faked his death then settled down in the mountains of Triskelia.  She was certain he’d be able to take care of himself, but there was that tiny voice in the back of her head that kept whispering that it had been years since Dad had needed to use his magic in an offensive manner and that he was getting in way over his head.

Jemma gave Daisy a smile that was supposed to be comforting, but failed miserably.  “I’m certain the Baron will do everything in his power to help.”

“He sent someone to watch out for Dad while he’s undercover.  I met him, and I think he’d do everything he could to make sure Dad’s not hurt.”  Or worse.  Daisy didn’t want to even consider worse.

“And I’m sure Baron Nicholas will inform the Heads of Orders,” Leo pointed out.  “They’ll be on the hunt as well.”

He had a point, but would Uncle Nick risk that sort of thing?  What if someone close to the Head of Void Order, Master Gideon, was involved and word got back to the conspirators?

“I’m not sure he would,” Daisy said slowly.  She explained her reasoning.

“Could this have got so high in Void Order?” Leo wanted to know.

“I have no idea.  But Uncle Nick is really paranoid. I’m not sure he’d trust many people with my Dad’s safety.”

“But he did send someone he trusted.”

Daisy nodded.  “An Elf named Clint Barton.  I got the distinct impression that my Dad knew him really well…if you know what I mean.”  She gave them a saucy wink.

Leo was the one who blushed the brightest.  “Daisy!”

“You should have seen the looks.  Which didn’t make sense because Dad never mentioned him before.  Melinda thinks it has something to do with something that happened in the past.”  And that was all she could say without mentioning that her Dad was a wanted criminal who had faked his own death.  “But yeah, Dad trusted him and he seemed competent enough.”

She began to pace.  “The thing is, I don’t know what to do.  I want to do something to help Dad, but I don’t have any clue about what that would be.  He’s gonna walk into some secret hideout belonging to a bunch of Voids who want to play around with immortality.”

“But we all know the stories about the Deathless,” Jemma said, “and from what everything written claims, it’s impossible.”

“Master John made it seem like it wasn’t, though.”

“You know who John Garrett’s Novice was, right?” Leo asked softly.

Of course, she did.  “He dropped Ward as his Novice as soon as it got out what that bastard did to you and Jemma.”

It had been a fairly major scandal at the time.  Grant Ward, student Void Wizard, had trapped both Jemma and Leo within a particularly nasty spell, a Confinement spell that had been hermetically sealed.  They could very well have suffocated if not for the fact that Ward had only been in training and the magic hadn’t been as powerful as it would have been if he’d been a graduate.  Grand Master Ianto had broken the spell apart – something Daisy hadn’t known was possible, a Cardinal picking a Void powered spell apart like it was a knitted scarf – and Ward had been expelled. 

At the time, Ward had denied he’d done it on purpose, but that hadn’t saved him.  In fact, no one had believed his denials, especially when Grand Master Ianto had testified as to the nature of the magic involved.

It still hurt.  He’d been a member of their group of friends.  If Daisy had to admit it, she still missed the old Grant she’d known, and not the cold bastard who’d emerged from their friend, like some sort of bizarre and twisted butterfly.

“I just wonder if Ward’s involved in this somehow,” Leo murmured.  “After all, he’s a Void.  And I doubt Garrett would have let him go off on his own.”

“Trip might know,” Jemma insisted.  “Garrett was Trip’s teaching Master until he requested the change and started working under Master Jasper.  That had been a personality conflict, even Master Gideon had agreed that Trip and Garrett had been a bad fit.”

Antoine Triplett was just a generally nice guy.  Daisy had never quite understood why such an obvious blowhard like Master John Garrett had requested Trip be his Novice.  To be honest, it really didn’t surprise Daisy all that much that Garrett was involved in something shady, and that was before that mess with Ward.  A niggling itch in her head made her wonder if, somehow, Garrett had been somewhat responsible for Ward’s fall from grace, to serve his own, Hydra, purposes…

“Did Trip go home?” Daisy asked.  He usually did, to stay with his grandmother, and she wanted to confirm it.

Jemma nodded.  “He did.  But he’s got his speaking stone with him.”

One of the best ideas Lincoln had had was for them to all get speaking stones.  They were a fairly basic enchantment, and it had only taken a little bit of study in the library to come up with a way to create them for each of the friends, in order to keep track of each other on their school breaks.  Daisy could still remember how pleased Dad had been when she’d told him about hers, proud that she’d been able to cast such a spell on her own, without any sort of training.  Well, she hadn’t been alone, it had been a group effort, and when she’d informed her Dad of that, he’d told her he was proud of her _and_ of her friends.

Dad really was pretty fantastic.

“Do either of you have your stones with you?”

She got a synchronous head shaking from both Elves.

Daisy patted down her pockets.  “And mine is apparently with my stuff.  Why don’t I go back to my room and get it, and you can keep working on that potion?”  She knew it was important to Jemma to get it to work, even though it wasn’t something that was necessary at this point in their lessons.  She just needed to be the best, to excel in whatever she tried, even though hers and Leo’s teaching Master kept telling them to slow things down a little. 

Daisy could understand it. She felt the same way, the need to be as best she could, if only to make her Dad even prouder of her.  She loved the warm feeling that gave her, knowing that she’d done something that made him glad that he’d taken her out of that warzone and had made her his own. 

Jemma gave her a smile.  “I do need to finish this, but what you’ve told us is important, too.”

“We need more information,” Daisy pointed out, “and we can’t decide on a plan until I speak to Trip, to see if he can’t give us some background on Garrett.  Why don’t we meet up for dinner later? Oh, wait…I guess it would be lunch for me.  I’m still on Triskelia time.”

“It’s just past the fourth hour,” Leo answered.  “So, dinner time here.”

“Alright, then, why don’t you both come up to my room once you’re done?  I doubt none of us will take all that long, and we can talk about what Trip tells me.”

“Excellent,” Jemma agreed.  “We’ll stop and get some snacks on the way.  If we’re working on some sort of plan after dinner, we may get hungry again.”

“Sounds good.”

With that, Daisy loosened of her grasp on the wards, letting them relax back to normal.  She collected Skye on the way out, who only grumbled a little at being separated from Professor and Turbo, and then headed toward her dormitory once more.

She really hoped that Trip would be able to give them sort of insight into what Garrett might have planned.  Daisy didn’t think their friend would actually know anything about the Void’s plans, but maybe he can let them know more about Garrett and what he might be thinking.  Trip had requested a new teaching Master because he and Garrett didn’t get along all that well; Trip might have been easygoing, but he wasn’t a pushover, and he’d confided in them all that Garrett had done his best to control Trip in every aspect of his life.  Trip hadn’t been about to put up with that, so he’d left.  He was a lot happier now with Master Jasper Sitwell, who was a half-Elven Master who could be tough when he didn’t think a student was living up to their potential, but was always willing to listen to what Trip had to say instead of disregarding him and trying to force him into a role that just didn’t suit.  It also didn’t hurt that Master Jasper was just plain _nice_.

As worried as she was about her Dad walking into some sort of disaster waiting to happen, Daisy couldn’t disregard the fact that she was in Gateway.  The city wasn’t the original one that had been on the site; that one had been practically destroyed by the Nameless Demons from the north, swarming down into the warmer lands.  It had taken Lady Rose Tyler to stop them, using a spell that should never have been used in order to stop them by draining their lifeforce. 

Even now, Gateway thrummed with the Deep Ways.  It was in every breath she took, everything she ate and drank, and Daisy had had to ask one of the Master Void Wizards – it was actually Master Jasper, who was a _really_ nice guy, if a little too hung up on food – how they stayed there, when the magic that permeated the place was directly in opposition to the Void.  Master Jasper had explained that, just because the Cardinals and Voids were diametrically different, that didn’t mean they couldn’t co-exist.  Then he’d asked her how she could live with her Dad, since he was a powerful Void in his own right, and Daisy had told him that it was easy, because it was a part of him and she loved his magic as much as she loved him.

Master Jasper had laughed and said, “Exactly.”  He’d also booped her on the nose, which had had her laughing, but then she’d been thirteen at the time and he’d probably thought she was being adorable.

Daisy _had_ heard that the Greats had wanted to create their own school, away from such a powerful source of the Deep Ways, but the Grand Masters had put their collective feet down about it, even the Grand Master of Great Order at the time.  It had happened quite a long time ago, and she’d only known because Lincoln loved to research history when he wasn’t busy training to be a healer.

If Daisy had to admit to herself, she did have a bit of crush on Lincoln. They were currently giving dating a try, and so far they just seemed to click.  There were quite a few Greats who didn’t like the idea that Lincoln was seeing a Cardinal, and they’d gotten hassled about it, but it wasn’t anything that the two of them couldn’t handle, and had done so easily.  Now, other students knew not to mess with them.

The path back to the dormitory was fairly empty this part of the day, and on one of the student days’ off as well, so she found herself alone as the building came into view.  It was four stories tall, made of the same white stone that Gateway was known for, and it did feel a little like home did to her. 

Although, wherever her Dad was would always be her _true_ home.  That would never change.

Skye chirped at her as she curled about Daisy’s neck, and she reached up to scratch the nearest patch of scaly hide she could reach.  It was obviously a good place, from the contentment that hummed through their link.

The Wizard School wasn’t a large campus, but then it didn’t need to be.  It took a special person to be a Wizard, and there just weren’t that many out in the world.  From what Daisy had heard from her own teaching Master, Mistress Pepper, there were 126 students at the school this semester, and the Testing would be held later on in the year.  Gateway had become the premier school in the world, with only a couple that were much smaller in other countries, including the one on Genosha which was only really open to Genoshan students.  Although, from what Daisy had noticed, there were quite a few Genoshan natives in Gateway, wanting to experience the world instead of staying on their island. 

The path she was on wound through some trees, cutting the sunlight a bit with their thick canopies of green leaves.  This little bit of park was the central hub of the campus, with the Wizard’s Tower, the three dormitories, the laboratory and the library all forming spokes jutting out from that hub.  This was where students would often come between classes when the weather was good, to just sit on the grass and relax before their next class began.  Daisy and her friends had often gotten together for picnic lunches there.

It was quiet, though, with the majority of the students gone home, the only sound the wind that rustled the leaves and soft birdsong that was soothing to her ear.

Daisy didn’t mind the quiet.  And it meant she could hear a branch breaking off to the side of the path, behind a hedge that had been planted to give the path a little privacy along this section, letting her know that she wasn’t alone.

She didn’t even pay attention.

She should have.

In front of her, the hedge ended, and a man stepped out into the path, his wand upraised.

For a moment, Daisy didn’t even register the man’s sudden appearance.  When she did, it was after she’d taken half a dozen more steps toward him, and she found herself recognizing him a heartbeat later.

Well, speak of one of the devils and they shall appear.

It was Grant Ward, surrounded by the five tiny dragons that he’d called Hive.

Daisy didn’t even have time to react before a spell hit her.  Darkness closed over her, accompanied by the sweet scent of lavender.

She wasn’t even aware of hitting the ground.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

Pepper sighed as she entered her apartment in the Wizard’s Tower, tired and just a little frustrated, but at the same time glad she’d talked to Ianto about everything.

The Grand Master had made some good points about letting things continue on, but to be ready to act in case something catastrophic occurred.  She didn’t want to consider that, but she had to.  There was Daisy to think of, after all, and she didn’t want to risk the girl’s father anymore than he was already doing.  She genuinely liked Phil, and wanted to get to know him a little better.

Happy launched himself at the window seat, settling himself onto the embroidered pillows Pepper had had made for him.  That was his favorite perch, and she couldn’t help but smile as he flopped over onto his back, waving his legs toward the ceiling.  In the window, one of the moons was hovering just above the horizon, even though it wasn’t quite sunset yet. 

He really was one of the silliest dragons she’d ever seen.  And Pepper loved him for it.

Her rooms were expansive, taking up half a floor in the Tower.  She had a sitting room, a bedroom, and her own privy, as well as an office where she would often prepare her lesson plans and doubled as a personal casting chamber.  She didn’t stay there often, mostly when she was too busy to go home, but she kept it stocked with everything she’d need to stay several nights at a time.

When she was teaching, she used the labs and chambers that the school provided for the casting of spells, but there were times when she would have students in for private lessons… usually those particularly gifted Novices, like Daisy Coulson.  Not everyone she taught had that sheer amount of natural power, and the intelligence and strength to handle it, and needed that one-on-one approach to learning.

Sighing again, Pepper shed the outer layer of her robes, tossing the knee-length jacket onto the nearest chair, then removing her shoes and leaving them near the same chair.  She’d run a bath later, but for now she wanted to contact Tony and let him know they would be having a visitor.  She was just glad that Ianto had asked her to dinner, that way she wouldn’t have to scrounge something up this late.

There had been a message waiting for her on her speaking stone from Daisy herself, saying she was coming back to the school first to pick up schoolwork, before being ready to teleport to Ferrous Castle.  Pepper didn’t think she would have arrived there so soon, but she wanted to warn Tony – or, more particularly, Jarvis, the one man who knew everything that was going on at home – to expect Daisy at some point.

Her mirror was hanging in her bedroom.  It was large, with gilded leaves around the outside of the frame, and looked incredibly expensive.  Looks weren’t deceiving; it had been a gift from Tony, but it was worth more than anything to her.

The first thing she’d done was enchant it.

Its mate was at Castle Ferrous. 

Walking up to the mirror, Pepper waved a hand across the surface of the glass, her magic touching the spells that had been laid upon it, activating the Far-Seeing and Speaking spells and adding an extra ward for privacy, making certain that the coordinates were set for home.  The glass wavered, as if reflecting a heat haze, and when it cleared it revealed the library of Ferrous Castle.

Pepper knew she’d have to wait a moment, since no one was likely to be within the library back home, so she stepped away in order to take her hair down and to get comfortable clothes from the wardrobe.  While the robes she wore out and about were fine, when she was alone she much preferred simpler garb.  Plus, she would be going back to Ferrous soon, and Tony really didn’t care what Pepper wore, as long as she was back.

She’d just gotten the hairpins out and put away when the soft chime from the mirror told her that someone had heard the other mirror’s attention getting sound when she’d activated it.  Pepper was up and out of the chair at her vanity table, moving to the mirror. 

She smiled at who was at the other end of the connection.  “Good day, Jarvis.”

Edwin Jarvis was a tall, gangly man with brown hair and dark eyes.  He projected such an air of competency that Pepper sometimes wondered if there wasn’t a thing he _couldn’t_ do.  He was the fourth Jarvis to work for the Starks, and both she and Tony would have been lost without him and his equally competent wife, Ana.

 _“Good morning, Mistress Pepper,”_ he answered warmly, sounding as if he was in the same room with her, despite the actual distance between them.  The Barony of Ferrous was on the far west coast of the Western Lands, which meant it was just before middleday there.  _“Shall we be expecting you home soon?”_

“I think so,” she answered.  “However, I’m not going to be alone, so if you could have one of the guest rooms prepared that would be lovely.  Daisy Coulson will be staying with us for a short while.”

_“Very good, I shall have it done.  I do hope everything is alright with Novice Daisy’s father?”_

Jarvis was always perceptive.  Sometimes Pepper had to wonder if he had some form of magic, that had been overlooked in the Testing.  “There is an issue, but I can’t really discuss it openly like this.”

 _“Understood.”_ Jarvis was used to there being secrets, and accepted her word with equanimity. 

“Can you ask Tony to come to the mirror, please?”

_“It may be a moment; His Grace is in his workshop.”_

Pepper laughed.  “Did he even leave it last night?” She knew her husband.  If no one made him leave, Tony would practically live in his workshop.

Tony Stark wasn’t a wizard, but what he could do with other devices was downright magical.  He’d invented quite a few things that mimicked magical artifacts, including the lightbulbs that did the same thing as glowglobes did but ran on a non-magical power source that he’d also come up with, a form of manmade lightning.  Tony had dreams of every home being lit by them within his lifetime, and Pepper didn’t doubt him in the least. 

Tony was a genius.  He might have been irritating and forgetful and infuriating, but she loved him for his mind, as well as his generosity.

 _“I did fetch him a little after middlenight,”_ Jarvis answered, sounding affronted by her question.  _“However, while I cannot prove it, I believe he snuck back into the workshop sometime after Ana and I went to bed ourselves.”_

That certainly sounded like Tony.  “I’ll wait for him, Jarvis.  Thank you.”

 _“You’re quite welcome, Mistress Pepper.”_   He bowed slightly, and then withdrew, leaving Pepper alone with the still open connection.

She took the opportunity to change clothes, exchanging the more formal robes with an ankle-length skirt in deep blue with a matching tunic.  It felt wonderful to get out of those bulky robes; whoever had come up with the idea that Wizards needed such things should have been forced to wear them constantly.  And the very idea of color matching with their dragons…not that everyone did it, but it was almost expected at this point.  It was also extremely bothersome.

 _“Hey, Pep,”_ Tony’s voice came from the mirror, just as she was putting the robes away.

Pepper couldn’t help but smile as she turned back toward the mirror.  Tony had, indeed, been in his workshop, judging from the grimy shirt he was wearing that was just barely obscuring the blue glow from the magical gemstone that had been implanted in his chest, in order to save his life several years previously.  Protective goggles were pushed back into his rather messy dark hair, and there was a streak of some sort of grease on his cheek.  He hadn’t shaved yet; his goatee was a little overgrown, and there were definite circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep. 

She thought he was adorable.

“Tony,” she greeted. “Are you giving Jarvis a hard time again?”

He shrugged, not looking contrite at all.  _“It’s not my fault I had this brilliant idea as I was falling asleep.  Besides, I just don’t sleep well when you’re not here.”_

Her heart warmed at the admission.  She felt the exact same way, which was why she liked to limit her time at the school when she could which, because of the large time difference, she wasn’t able to do as often as she liked.  “I’ll be home soon, but I’m bringing a visitor with me.”  At Tony’s questioning eyebrow, she added, “Daisy Coulson.”

Tony gave her a pleased grin.  _“Mini Pepper is coming for a bit?  Awesome.”_

That comment had Pepper rolling her eyes affectionately.  He and Daisy got along very well, the young woman fascinated by Tony’s inventions and was always asking questions that Tony was delighted to answer.  He might have been considered an ass by a lot of people, but he really was an excellent mentor to young people.

However, his grin faded a little.  _“Is there something I should be aware of?  I mean, I really don’t mind having your students over, but you usually give a bit more warning.  It’s not like you to just announce it.  So, light of my life…what’s going on?”_

Damnit.  “You are way too perceptive for my own good,” she teased.

He batted his eyes at her.  _“It’s one of the reasons you love me.”_

“Well that…and the sheer prestige of marrying into the Stark family.”

Tony raised a hand to his chest in mock surprise.  _“Oh, you wound me!  And here I thought it was because of my lightning wit and devastating charm.”_

Despite herself, Pepper laughed.  “Yes, Tony…that’s exactly right.”

To be fair, she really hadn’t gained all that much by marrying Tony, at least not in the way of personal prestige.  She’d already been on the fast track to becoming the Head of Cardinal Order, so joining herself to Tony Stark hadn’t made any sort of difference in that way.  And, her family was also relatively well-off, so she hadn’t needed the wealth, either.  In the end, it had been love that had motivated her, and nothing else.

His reputation might have been considered disreputable, but all that had ended before she’d married him.  There were still a few out there who thought she’d married below her station, but Pepper always scoffed at that.  They simply didn’t know Tony, or hadn’t even taken the time to, and that wasn’t her fault.  Pepper knew him, that was good enough.  It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.

She sobered.  “Something _is_ going on, but I can’t tell you.  Not by the mirror.  The spells on our connecting mirrors are very strong and hard to break, but anyone with enough power would be able to listen in.  And…I’m sorry, Tony, but you’ll need to wait until I see you in person.”

She really wanted to tell him about everything.  About how worried she was about Phil, and Daisy, and even the Hawk, who was willingly walking into whatever gathering the Voids calling themselves Hydra were arranging.  Talking to Ianto had eased her heart a little, knowing that the Grand Master was willing to step in and help in case Phil got into trouble, but the waiting for whatever shoe to drop was interminable.  There wasn’t a thing she could do but take a step back and try to be as patient as she possibly could.

Many people were of the opinion that she had the patience of a saint, to be married to Baron Tony Stark, but it was easy to be patient with him because she understood his idiosyncrasies and could deal with them as they arose.  This…this was completely different, and Pepper hated it with every fiber of her being.

Tony must have seen something in her expression, because he nodded.  _“Alright, I get the secrecy.  But come home, Pepper.  Come home and let me help you.”_

Mistress Pepper Potts was a strong woman.  She had her magic and willpower and intelligence, and yet the kindness shown her by the man she loved was almost enough to undo her.  The majority of the world saw Tony’s public face: the dilletante, the once-warmonger, the drinker and the incorrigible flirt.  Only a privileged few got to ever see the real Tony, and she felt blessed that she was one of them.

Before she could say anything else, there came a pounding on her door.  Frowning, Pepper extended her senses outward, surprised to feel three sources of Great magic outside; one more controlled than the other two, and she could surmise that one was a teaching Master and the other two students. 

 _“Gods, I can hear that even on this side of the mirror,”_ Tony groused as the pounding began again.  _“You better go and answer that, unless you want whoever the hells it is to break your door down.”_

“You’re not kidding.” Without sparing him a backward glance – and not disconnecting their conversation, just in case – Pepper headed out of the bedroom and into the front room.  As she approached the door, she could hear someone speaking outside, but the pounding didn’t start back up again.

Confident that she could handle whoever it was if they’d decided to cause trouble, Pepper waved her wards away and opened the door.  “Can I help you?” she asked pleasantly, not giving away her preparedness to defend herself if needed.

Her magical senses hadn’t lied; there were three people on the other side of the door.  Two were definitely students…and she recognized them as the two Elves that Daisy was friends with, along with their dragons, and they both looked very worried. 

In that moment, the Cardinal Wizard knew something was _very_ wrong.

The third person was a tall, broad man, with dark skin, his head shaved but sporting a neat beard.  He resembled a brawler, but Pepper got the impression that this teaching Master was actually as soft-hearted as he looked tough.  His dragon was just as huge as he was, all brown and gold, hovering over her Wizard worriedly. 

“I’m sorry about that,” the man stated, not managing to hide his slight embarrassment, “I’m teaching Master Alphonso Mackenzie, and these are my students, Novices Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz.  We may have a problem, and Jemma and Leo thought you ought to know.”

“We thought to speak to Mistress Maria,” the female Elf – Jemma Simmons, Pepper recalled – said almost breathlessly, “however, she isn’t in Gateway.”

“And,” the other Elf – Leo Fitz – added, equally as breathless, “as you’re Daisy’s teaching Master, we thought we should come to you.”

The foreboding grew into absolute fear.  “You’d better come in,” she invited, pulling the door open all the way in order to let them pass. 

She excused herself, going back into the bedroom to let Tony know she was alright.  “I have to go,” she told him.

 _“What’s happened?”_ he demanded, looking as if he was ready to come crawling through the magical mirror to her aid.

“I don’t know, but I suspect Daisy and I won’t be home today after all.” She didn’t even try to hide the worry in her words.  It had to be Daisy.  Her friends wouldn’t be acting this way if it wasn’t, and they certainly wouldn’t have come to her about it.  But she was Daisy’s teaching Master.  It would make sense for them to seek her out if something had happened.

 _“Oh, shit.”_   Tony straightened.  _“I’m coming to help.  I’ll use the pendant you gave me, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”_

“Tony – “

 _“Don’t even think about it, Pep.  I’ll be there.”_   With that, he was gone, the mirror back to showing the empty room back at the castle.

Pepper was relieved, although a part of her wished he was staying home.  Instead of worrying about it, she swiped across the mirror, breaking the connection, and then headed back out to the sitting room, where all three of her visitors were standing just inside the now-closed door, the younger students nervous as their teaching Master practically loomed over them; although, it wasn’t an angry looming.  It was more protective than anything else.  To Pepper’s surprise, Happy hadn’t flown over to make the acquaintance of the newcomers, because Elves were like the dragon form of catnip.  He must have picked up on just how upset they were.

Pepper stopped right in front of them.  “Tell me what’s going on.”

The Elves glanced at each other, their dragons twitchy at their sides.  Master Alphonso nudged them both forward a little.  “Go on,” he urged.

“It’s Daisy,” Novice Jemma said, fear in her pleasantly accented voice.  “She’s gone missing.”

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

The call came just as they were sitting down for lunch.

Clint had been glad they weren’t going to be eating in any sort of fancy dining room somewhere in the Keep; instead, it was a rustic-looking table in the kitchen…and the room was fairly large, but not all the space looked to be utilized.  After all, from what Clint had seen there was only the family there, including Melinda May, and one more member of staff that he’d noticed but not been introduced to, and who had to have been the cook who’d prepared the food that had been waiting for them when they’d entered the kitchen area.  Or else Melinda was responsible, which was possible although in the few times he’d run with her she’d ducked out of cooking duties.

The kitchen had high ceilings and two enormous fireplaces, one of which was actually lit, even though the fire had been banked until only glowing embers remained.  There was also an oven that would have easily fit three full-grown bucks, a large cold box that practically vibrated with the magic that was running it, and a pantry that Clint could just see into from where he was standing and was filled with all sorts of dried foods and several jars that most likely contained spices.  He thought there might have also been a meat smoking room, but it was obviously not in use, judging from the lack of heat coming from it.

“Melinda not joining us?” Clint asked when he noticed the two place settings.

“She normally doesn’t,” Phil answered, taking the far seat.  “It’s usually just Daisy and I.”

Clint joined him, checking out the food that had been prepared for them.  A chicken, skin looking quite crispy, potatoes, and string beans along with several thick slices of home-baked bread and a dish with creamy butter beside it.  Glasses had already been filled with what looked like either wine or juice, a pitcher on a shelf nearby waiting for them to pour more whenever they were ready for it. 

The archer was starved, so he didn’t hesitate to help himself.  Phil must have been as well, but then he’d been doing a lot of magic in the couple of hours since Clint’s arrival.  He’d been serious about enchantments on things, including several of Clint’s arrows; he now had two magicked knives, as well as another ring that was a Protection spell and was much more his style of jewelry than the black-stoned one that had the Teleport spell on it, this one being a twisted silver band, unadorned and looking a little worn.  He’d wondered how old it actually was when Phil had handed it to him and explained how to activate the magic if he needed it.

Lola had taken up a position between the two, sitting at attention, waiting to see who was going to knuckle under her imploring gaze and feed her first. 

It was Clint.  He was a sucker for that sort of thing.

Phil chuckled.  “You’re such a pushover.”

Clint shrugged.  Yes, he was.

“She has her own dinner, if she was interested.”  The Void Wizard waved toward the counter, where another plate was sitting, an entire cooked chicken on it.  “She knows where it is.  She just enjoys conning gullible guests out of their own food.”

He reached over, scratching Lola right between her blue eyes, and she huffed a dragon laugh.  With a flick of her wings, she flew over to the counter, where she daintily picked up the chicken and proceeded to devour it.

“Eat up,” Phil encouraged.  “We have no idea when we’ll be getting another meal we can trust once we get the call.”

It was at that moment that the speaking stone that Garrett had given Phil went off with a horrendous squawking sound, startling Clint enough that he dropped the chicken leg he’d snagged for himself and the noise caused Lola to hiss angrily.

Luckily, Clint’s reflexes were good enough that he was able to keep his piece of chicken from hitting the stone floor and wasting the effort of whoever was responsible for cooking it.

Rolling his eyes, Phil took the stone from his pocket.  “Speak of the demon and it shall call,” he quipped lightly. 

The stone was plain and smooth, obviously once a river rock, edges worn away by centuries of water.  The moment the stone was in his hand, the irritating noise cut off. 

 _“Phil!”_ the voice that came from the stone was full of good cheer, and it set Clint’s teeth on edge.

“Good evening, John,” Phil replied, his own voice bland, as if he was already bored with the conversation.

Clint watched as the man he’d spent much of the day with changed before his eyes.  Suddenly, gone was the warmth in his blue – his very blue – eyes, and his face lost all animation.  It was as if a completely different person was seated across from him, and with a shock he realized he was seeing bits and pieces of the Dark One in Phil Coulson, coming back out as if it had been hidden in the shadows of the new Phil’s friendly demeanor.  Across the room, Lola stopped eating, her head swiveling to watch her Wizard, her eyes swirling with worry.

He didn’t like it, either.

 _“Are you ready to meet our little merry band of Voids?”_ Just from that tone, Clint could tell that John Garrett was an asshole. 

“When?”

_“In an hour.  Use the bracelet and it’ll bring you right to the meeting place.  Oh, and…come alone.”_

With that pronouncement, the stone began to smoke.  Phil casually dropped it on the floor, then pointed a finger at it.  A bubble of pure blackness surrounded the stone, and a muffled pop sounded.  Clint could imagine just how much of a mess that explosion would have caused if Phil hadn’t contained it.

“Is Garrett a natural asshole,” Clint asked, “or does he have to work at it?”

Phil huffed a laugh, his face losing its blankness and warmth returned to his eyes.  “Oh, it’s natural.”

“You’re not going alone.”  It wasn’t a question.

“Of course not.  Certainly, if I still _was_ the Dark One, I’d be arrogant enough to do just that.  And I’m sure Garrett knows it.  So, I think bringing you along with be that much more of a surprise.”

Clint nodded.  “Then, eat.  You need to get back some of the energy you laid out in enchanting nearly every weapon I have on me.”

The Void Wizard gave him a single raised eyebrow.  “And I’m supposed to believe that was _nearly_ every weapon you’re carrying, Barton?”

There really was no answer to that. 

Lola snorted, then went back to her own meal, and Clint took that as a sign that the Wizard seated opposite him had regained his equilibrium.

Because it had been obvious, the moment Clint had seen Phil standing there in his casting chamber, that the man had changed drastically in more ways than just his appearance.  Back when he’d been trying his best to raze towns and salt the remains, there’d been an undercurrent of fierce anger that had tinged every single action he’d taken.  At the time, the archer hadn’t known just what had caused Phil to be so furious at the world, but now he knew, and it made him want to find the Wizard’s parents and put arrows in them where it would do the most good. 

However, now that anger was gone, replaced by what Clint could only describe as contentment.  It was as if something had snuffed out all that rage, and he suspected it was mostly all down to a little girl named Daisy, who’d needed Phil just as much as he’d needed her.  He would be forever grateful to her, and vowed to get to know the daughter that had taken away that anger and had replaced it with love.

But now, that bastard, John Garrett, and whoever else he was working with, were bringing back that old persona that Phil had done his damnedest to leave behind.  If just for that, Hydra deserved to be taken down, and taken down _hard_.

Alright, he’d have to thank them first for bringing Phil back into his life, but that wouldn’t stop Clint from causing as much damage as he possibly could.

Because this Phil, the one who’d become a model citizen in order to raise a little girl he’d found in the middle of a battle, was the one Clint really wanted to get to know now.  He’d been attracted and half in love with the Dark One…please, all that anger and danger in one sexy package?  Who wouldn’t have been? And the archer had always had a thing for the bad boys.

This new man, who was eating his meal with easy enjoyment of good food, who adored his daughter, and who’d completely turned his life around…Clint knew he was in serious trouble with this version of Phil Coulson.  This was the man he’d thought could every well exist within the Wizard who’d wanted to tear down everything because it was expected of him to be that evil.  There had been flashes of kindness amid the evil actions; Clint could vividly recall one such time when he’d seen the Dark One save a family from the very chaos he’d set into motion, just because they’d been innocent and hadn’t deserved to die.  Those little things hadn’t been shown in all the rumors about the Dark One and Marcus Johnson, which was a shame, since that would have flown in the face of all the horror stories that the governments that had found themselves in conflict with the pair of mercenaries wanted known. 

And he wasn’t about to forget Buda-Pest.

The man he was eating supper with was the culmination of all of those hundreds of tiny little acts, only the world would never know about them, not when the horror was what they wanted remembered.

“This is really good,” Clint said around a mouthful of potatoes.  “Does Melinda do the cooking, too?”  It was polite conversation, because he was fairly certain of the answer.

“No,” Phil laughed, confirming that suspicion, “Melinda couldn’t cook to save her life.  This,” he waved his hand over the table, “we have to thank her husband, Andrew, for.”

Wait… “Melinda May is _married_?” That just about boggled his mind.  The Melinda he’d worked with had seemed like a loner, and when she’d suddenly stopped appearing out of seemingly nowhere for missions Clint had assumed she’d quit the business, or been killed.  Despite his irritation with her knowing Phil was alive and Clint himself not, he’d been glad to know she was still around.

The Void Wizard nodded.  “Andrew was a teacher at a university south of here.  Melinda met him during a mess with a baron that had certain delusions of grandeur, and they got together a short time later.  They were happy…until Andrew was accidentally in contact with a cursed magical artifact.  It left him… changed.  You won’t see him; he doesn’t like to show himself to anyone except Melinda…and Daisy, who set out to befriend him fairly early on.  While Melinda runs things around here, Andrew does such things as cooking and some cleaning.  I think he’s also been teaching Daisy a few things.”

“The curse can’t be lifted?” the archer asked in dismay.  That sounded horrible, and he didn’t want to even contemplate it happening to anyone he cared about.  Sure, he was aware that such curses existed; Phil himself had cursed a few things in his time, but he hadn’t exactly hung around to see the results.

“I’ve been trying, but it’s a particularly nasty one.  Pepper thought we might have Grand Master Ianto have a go at it, since he’s made a name for himself breaking curses, but I think Andrew doesn’t want to be given that sort of false hope.”

That must have been the figure he’d seen out of the corner of his eye.  It had to have been this Andrew, unless the Keep was haunted.  Which was possible, he supposed.  A part of him wanted to ask Phil if the place had ghosts, but chose instead to finish eating.  A building as old as Shield Keep was bound to have a few spirits hanging around.

“So,” Phil began, “what have you been up to these last few years?”

Clint shrugged.  “Not much.  Hanging out with Natasha and doing odd jobs for Nick, as well as others. She and I aren’t really mercenaries any longer.  We got out of the business not long after you…well, you died, and Nick made himself a Baron, which I still find crazy.  If you’d asked me about Marcus being an excellent Baron I would have laughed in your face.”

“He does make a surprisingly excellent one.  He was the first person I thought of when I needed to settle down with Daisy.” He set his fork down.  “Clint, I hope you don’t think me not letting you or Natasha know reflects on how I feel about either of you.”

He wanted to ask why he hadn’t, but remembered how Phil had reacted when he’d tried to explain back in the study.  “I’m sure you had your reasons, but you don’t have to say a thing about them.  Just…don’t cut me out of the loop anymore, alright?  And I’d like to get to know Daisy, once this is all over.  I would really like to be friends with the kid who pulled you out of your downward spiral into darkness.”

“More like a plunge,” the Wizard admitted.  “Clint, I truly am sorry I didn’t try to contact you.  We were… friends, and if it makes it any better at all Nick was the only one who knew until he sent Melinda to me.”  He smirked.  “At least you didn’t punch me like she did.”

“That might still be on the table, just so you know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  Phil gave him a smile that completely lacked any of the darkness the Elf had once seen in that particular expression.  It was like being punched in the gut, that smile, but in an extremely pleasant sort of way. 

Then Phil stood.  “I’m going to get changed into something a bit more appropriate for a meeting of rogue Void Wizards expecting to see the Dark One.  Finish up, and I’ll meet you in my casting chamber when you’re done.”

“What about the plates?”

“Andrew will take care of it.  He likes being helpful.”  With that, Phil left the kitchen and, her own dinner done, Lola followed, giving Clint a cheerful chirp on her way by.

Clint finished quickly, taking the last chicken leg as he stood.  While the kitchen appeared to be empty, he couldn’t help but say, “Thanks for the meal, Andrew.  It was great.”

With that, he left the kitchen, certain that his words had been heard.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

 

Phil left Clint in the kitchen, taking a deep breath as he headed up the staircase toward his rooms at the top of the Keep, Lola taking the quick route and flying up through the center of the stairwell.

He decided to do the same thing, using a personal Levitation spell to launch himself aloft.

It had been…nice, to eat together.  Plus, Clint hadn’t actually punched him yet, which he thought was a good thing even if the Elf claimed to still be considering it.  To be honest, the Wizard would have accepted it, realizing now that he’d been in the wrong in keeping his survival a secret.   He’d missed Clint, even though he hadn’t even admitted it to himself.  Hopefully, when everything was cleared up with Hydra, they could get to know each other once more.

His suite was near the top of the Keep’s main tower, the only room higher was the attempt at building an observatory that had fallen by the wayside during the original repairs to the Keep.  This place was his sanctuary; not even Daisy came up this far unless she absolutely needed to, now that she was old enough to be self-sufficient.  He’d loved the views from there, from the moment he’d taken possession of the Keep; the windows had been broken until the glazier had replaced them, but Phil hadn’t cared.  The surrounding mountains, often clad in white mist, were more than worth the cost of the new windows.

The first room was his sitting room, although he never entertained there.  It was more a second study than anything else, his more precious belongings on the shelves, priceless books and scrolls he’d managed to collect despite his very destructive nature in his younger days.  There was even a shield that was rumored to have belonged to Sir Steven Rogers, hanging in pride of place over the immense fireplace.  Phil wasn’t certain if the stories were true, although the shield was certainly old enough, and it had once been vibrantly painted with the Paladin’s crest, the North Star. 

He bypassed this room, making his way into the bedroom just beyond.  He often teased Marcus about being a hedonist, but to he fair he really didn’t have a right to do it.  His own bed was large, the mattress stuffed with the finest down, stacked with pillows and a deep blue comforter that kept the chill out at night, when the mountains grew almost too cold for the fireplace to keep the room warm.  In the depths of winter, that happened more often than not, and the Void Wizard didn’t often bother to cast spells to heat the place.  He’d slept in colder conditions, when he’d been out on the road.

If he was honest with himself, it was those times when he wished for a bed partner.  However, Phil hadn’t gone out to search for one.

A stray thought had him wondering what Clint would look like in that very large bed.

Shaking his head, Phil headed over to his spacious wardrobe.  Once he’d ‘retired’ from attempting to destroy the world – a goal he’d never really had the chance to reach, nor the inclination, if truth be told – he’d discovered a love for nice suits, and had spent a fair amount of the ill-gotten wealth he’d accrued in filling his wardrobe.  It didn’t really matter all that much; he didn’t leave Shield Keep that often, but the rich fabrics made him feel a little less like a pretender to propriety and more like he was actually belonged in the world instead of apart from it. 

However, in the back of the wardrobe, was one item of clothing he should have gotten rid of ages ago.

Phil pulled the uniform – because, that was what it was, the uniform of the Dark One – out of the wardrobe, laying it on the bed.  It was like looking into the past, and he had to shake his head again to ward off the memories that were threatening to surface.

The black leather of the long, sleeveless overtunic still held the spells he’d laced within the very material.  Protection.  Shielding.  Impenetrability…although that last one had come after Loki had stabbed him, and had been a lucky find within a half-destroyed library in the same town he’d rescued Daisy from. 

Phil had some doubt that much of the magic he’d had access to at the time would have blocked that cursed spear Loki had been wielding. 

No, he couldn’t think along those lines.  It would throw him off his game, so to speak.

The shirt underneath the long tunic was also black, golden embroidery at the open collar and the cuffs that would cinch tightly around his wrists, whorls of magical writing weaving yet even more spells.  More Protection, although these were not against bodily harm.  These were to protect his mind, and his soul, from various sorts of curses that might be thrown at him.  There was also another, more specialized sort of Shield, those threads silver and blue along the left cuff, blending in with the gold.

The trousers were also leather, and held even more magic, much along the lines as the rest of his costume.  A black leather belt and boots joined everything else. And Phil had to take a deep breath before beginning to dress himself once more in the trappings of a past he sincerely wished he could forget.

He was disappointed that it still fit.

Once everything was settled properly, the Void Wizard stood in front of the full-length mirror, examining everything minutely, including the magic.  He knew he had to make a statement, that everything about him had to show that he was still the powerful, arrogant Wizard who’d earned such a vile nickname as the Dark One.  The magic signatures wrapped around him had to be overt, to warn anyone who wanted to challenge him that he was still at the height of his power, and that to fight him was to court death.

The man looking back at him out of the glass wasn’t Phil Coulson. 

It was the Dark One.

He absolutely _hated_ it.

His face was pale, but that wasn’t surprising.  He didn’t get out in the sun all that often, preferring to stay within the Keep, to read or study or to cast his spells in peace.  The sheer blackness of his clothing made his eyes seem darker, his cheekbones a little bit more pronounced and his jawline a bit strong.  It didn’t do a thing about his receding hairline, but nothing could fix that.

He straightened the holster for his wand, getting to set a little more comfortably at his waist.  His personal dagger was in its own sheath on the opposite side, the black horn of the hilt fading into the background his clothing created, only the silver strip of the cross hilt visible.

Lola, who had jumped up onto the bed, let out a sad coo, her emotions strong, and it was like she was in mourning for their current lives.

They could go back to being themselves soon enough.  They just had to find out what Hydra was up to, and then they could return home.

And, perhaps, Clint would like to come along, as well.  Or maybe it was too soon for that.

There were a few more things he needed to do, and then he could head down to meet Clint in the casting chamber.

He moved to the shorter armoire that sat next to the wardrobe.  It was made up of ten thin drawers on sturdy legs, each one warded even though no one came into his room, and a mirror sat on top.  The mirror was his speaking mirror, but it doubled as a regular mirror, when he needed such a thing in his bedroom.  It was in a plain wooden frame, matching both the armoire and the larger wardrobe, a rich dark cherry that gleamed in the light from the window.

With a wave of his hand, Phil lit the glowglobe on the wall just over the mirror, wanting the illumination as he examined the contents of the armoire. 

Every Wizard enchanted small items for personal use.  This armoire held those items for Phil. 

Usually, it was jewelry that was bespelled.  And yes, the Void Wizard did have a couple of rings and pendants, but gems and precious metals weren’t things he was personally interested in.  What he enjoyed using were plain, everyday objects, that a person wouldn’t give two glances at…unlike a showy trinket or bauble, and were less likely to be the target of someone who thought that stealing from a Wizard was a really good idea.

There were a matching pair of daggers, which he slid into the tops of his highly polished boots.  No one would really look twice at extra weaponry. 

A pair of silver-rimmed glasses in a wooden case went into a pouch on his belt, along with a fountain pen that most would simply assume that he’d enchanted to be ever-filling…which he had, but that wasn’t the extent of the spells on it.  A set of lockpicks in a slim felt pouch slid into a back trouser pocket.  

He did choose a single ring, more of a blind than anything else.  Yes, it had a couple of useful spells on it, but it wasn’t the most important thing he was going to be carrying.

That was the wide, leather bracer that he slid onto his left arm.

Phil had created it himself, using half-remembered skills from his time as a Novice under Mistress Suzie.  He’d had to have specially made leatherworking tools, but the time it had taken to make it and the cost of the tools had been more than worth it.

Once he’d buttoned the shirt cuff, no one could even tell he was wearing it; one of the spells on that cuff actually masked the presence of the bracer’s magic.  He rubbed the bracer through his shirt, taking comfort in it being there.

Phil took a deep breath, in order to at least try and settle his nerves.  He was about to do something that he’d sworn he never would: become the one thing he never wanted to become again.  He just wanted to be Master Phil Coulson, Void Wizard, and the best father he could be to Daisy.  He wanted to live in peace, to not be bothered by the past he was now deeply ashamed of. 

Still, there was nothing for it.  They needed to know what this rogue group of Voids was up to.  He was in the unique position to discover just what that was. 

There was no way they could succeed in what they were planning, if Garrett had been correct.

Taking another deep breath, the Wizard left his bedroom, heading back toward the stairs that wound through the center of the Keep.  Deciding to take the short cut going down as well, he stepped off the landing and into the stairwell, letting his power support him as he floated down toward the ground floor, Lola calling out in delight that he was flying with her.

Melinda was waiting for him when his feet touched down lightly.  “Show off,” she said, deadpan.

“We’re on a time limit,” he explained. 

“Barton’s down in the casting chamber.  I let him in myself.”

“Thank you for that.”  His eyes met hers.  “Melinda, if something should happen…”

“If something should happen,” she intoned, “I’ll be coming to get your sorry ass out of whatever mess it ends up being in.”

Phil shook his head ruefully.  “Melinda…”

Her eyes turned fond.  “Phil, you need to be careful.  I’m not about to take any last words to Daisy.”

“Just…look after things while I’m gone.”  It wasn’t what he’d wanted to say, but she’d only refuse to hear it. 

“We will.”

Surprised, Phil turned toward the deep voice.  “Thank you, Andrew,” he said sincerely. 

While he hadn’t met Andrew before his change, the Wizard could see a bit beyond the man’s current grotesque appearance to the once-handsome teacher underneath.  He’d been well-built and tall, with a solid facial bone structure and brown eyes.

Now, Andrew Garner was changed in ways that made it obvious that he wasn’t human any longer.  His skin was gray, as if he was a corpse, and bulked out beyond what even a trained knight would be.  On his misshapen head snakes writhed, hissing slightly as they waved to and fro.  His chest was bare, as were his feet, but the trousers he was wearing were strained near to tearing by thighs like tree trunks.

Lola, though, wasn’t put off by Andrew’s appearance.  She darted right up to him, demanding attention, and the rusty laugh that the cursed man gave as he knelt down and scratched her head with blunt fingers was very good to hear.

“We should be going,” he said, hating to break up the moment, but time was getting late and, while he knew that being ‘fashionably late’ was often a tactic used in power plays, he didn’t want to tip his hand that way.  Being right on time would be the best thing in this circumstance, since he wanted them to think he was amenable to their overtures.  Taking Clint, when practically ordered to come alone, would be enough bucking authority at this point.

Lola cooed at Andrew, then came back to Phil’s side.  “Hopefully, we’ll be back soon.”

“You’d better be,” Melinda warned, “because I don’t want to have to chase you down and rescue you.  Barton had better watch your back, Phil, or I’ll kick his ass from here to Triskelia Town.”

Phil had to laugh.  “I’ll make sure he knows that.”

“You do that.”

The Wizard dropped a hand to his dragon’s head, taking comfort in her presence, both physical and mental, her love for him flowing through their link.  He sent his own feelings back to her, and she leaned against him, making a pleased noise at his attention.

“Come on, girl,” he urged. “Let’s go and get this done.”

Getting Lola’s agreement, Phil headed toward his casting chamber, where Clint awaited.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

Maria had been given a lot to think about.

She wandered the streets of New Andrade, aware of Iliad flying high overhead, but not paying her dragon any sort of attention as she walked, the journal of Master John Smith tucked under one arm.  A part of her was a little afraid of reading it, but she knew she really needed to, in order to understand just what Master Stephen had told her.

She had to wonder why she’d never learned this before, about the Voids and Cardinals and their connection to the ancient powers.  Certainly, her teaching Master had never said a single thing regarding that sort of connection, but she was beginning to realize that she wasn’t told a lot about her fellow Wizards and she had to wonder why that was.

Of course, she’d heard Master Stephen’s rhetoric before, but to be honest she hadn’t paid all that much attention.  Neither, apparently, had many of the other members of her order.  Why had she been so blind?  Why hadn’t she listened?

Well, she could guess…it was because of the absolute faith a student had in the words of their teachers.  Because, if a Novice couldn’t trust their Masters, then who could they trust?  That had been the basis of the teaching Master/Novice relationship from the recreation of the Wizard School and the Guild.  A Novice was chosen by the Master, and they studied with them for years before graduating to Mastery themselves.  There was no other bond greater, except that of family and a Wizard’s with their dragon.

Maria had never been one for teaching.  She simply didn’t have the patience.  But she trusted those who were called to that position, and would never have thought to question them.

Perhaps, though, that had been wrong as well, because as soon as she figured that out, she realized that could lead to all sorts of power imbalances.  And what about those Wizards who were now in Hydra?  Did they have students?  Were they passing on this sort of nonsense to another generation?

This was going to be a mess, no matter how it turned out.

Then, there was the subject of Master Phil Coulson.

Maria had a fine sense of justice.  She always had.  However, she couldn’t condemn the man for his wrongdoing as the Dark One without bringing Nick’s own past into it. He was just as culpable as the Dark One had been; they’d been partners, and had been jointly responsible for so much death and destruction…and yet, the former Marcus Johnson had become a beloved leader in Triskelia.  Besides, despite Nick’s past deeds, Maria had accepted him as a possible suitor.  Truth be told, she loved him, and was just waiting for him to get off his ass and ask her to marry him.  There was no way she wanted anything to happen to him just because she couldn’t let it go that he hadn’t confided in her that the Dark One was still alive.

Maria supposed that Grand Master Stephen had a point: _if_ Master Phil really _had_ changed as much as Nick had claimed, then chances were his own conscience wasn’t letting him forget what he’d done.  He’d chosen to raise a Cardinal daughter, his direct opposite in power and ability, and that also had to count for _something_.

She would wait and see. 

As for everything else…

It had been a revelation about just how the Cardinals and Voids related to the Deep Ways and the Void.  Maria was surprised she hadn’t considered that herself, but then she’d been one of the more vocal opponents of their very abilities.  Yes, she certainly respected Mistress Pepper, and Master Gideon had never done a thing to her, but there had still been that certain knowledge – not so certain, now – that what the were doing was wrong.  And that didn’t even get into how she felt about Grand Master Alexander…and Grand Master Ianto.  What the Cardinal Grand Master could do had just seemed…well, almost _evil_ to her, extending his own life using the Deep Ways.  To discover that the Deep Ways was so much a part of him…it gave her a new perspective. 

Just how terrible was immortality?  Why would anyone want it?  That included the Deathless, who hadn’t had a choice, either.  How could either of them stand to live, when everyone they’d known and loved was destined to die? 

Damnit, her head was hurting.

The book she was carrying taunted her.  The magic it was filled with made her tingle, and she wanted nothing more than to soak up Master John Smith’s wisdom on the subject of Voids and Cardinals and what had changed his mind about them.  If what he’d learned could do that, then perhaps she could change as well…

Somehow, she found herself on a busy sidewalk, with a glowing portal opening in front of her.

Maria automatically reached for her wand, but relaxed the moment she saw Master Stephen step through, Agamotto looped about his shoulders.  He looked concerned, and Maria instantly knew something bad had happened.

As Iliad landed lightly beside her, the Grand Master said, “We are needed at Gateway.”

“What’s going on?” she demanded.

“Daisy Coulson is missing.”

Maria cursed.  That was something she honestly hadn’t been expecting, and it was possibly the worst thing that could have occurred.  If it was Hydra, then they would be using the daughter against the father, and she had to wonder if they’d somehow found out that Master Phil had reported them to Nick…

Without saying anything else, Master Stephen opened another portal.  Maria wished she had the power to do that sort of thing, instead of relying on items enchanted with Teleport spells, but she didn’t have time to be envious.  The Grand Master was stepping through, and she followed, making certain her dragon was with her, not wanting to accidentally leave Iliad behind.

Maria found herself in front of Grand Master Ianto’s house.

While she’d never been inside – there had been no reason for her to – she was familiar with the building.  It was one of the oldest in Gateway that wasn’t affiliated with the Wizard School or the Baronial Court, and to her senses it had more magic imbued within it that Grand Master Stephen’s did, only without the Dimensional Expansion spell. 

If Maria had to admit it, she didn’t much care for Gateway.  It was quite possibly the most powerful Cardinal Point in the known world, and a place that no one should have built anything on.  It should have been left in peace, but no…they’d had to put the Wizard School and the Quorum Hall right in the center of all that magic.  She had an office there, that she did spend some time in during the school year if just for administrative reasons and Quorum business, but she really wasn’t there all that often.  She relied on her teaching Masters to look after the students and only had office hours for major conflicts among staff and Novices, and for meetings about curriculum. Maria wasn’t a teacher by any stretch of the imagination, but there were things that only the Head of Order could do.

Master Stephen strode toward the house’s front door, which opened at his approach.  Standing there was Eirlys Harkness-Jones, Baroness Gateway, looking very un-Baroness-like in casual clothing, and wearing none of the trappings of her office.

She gave them both a smile, but it wasn’t very pleased.  For a moment, Maria bristled, but realized that it wasn’t because they were there…it was because of the _reason_ they were at the house.  “Welcome,” she said, stepping aside.  “Everyone is in the dining room.  It’s the only room in the house outside of Tad’s casting chamber that would fit everyone.”

“Thank you, Eirlys,” Grand Master Stephen said sincerely, moving past her.  He touched her shoulder lightly as he did so, and Maria knew then that they were quite friendly with each other. 

“I only wish you were visiting under better circumstances.”  Then she turned to Maria.  “Mistress Maria, you are welcome here.  I do wish you were here for the first time for a different reason.”

Maria thanked her, following her Grand Master into the cozy home.  It didn’t look at all what she thought it might, belonging to the immortal Grand Master of Cardinal Order and the most powerful Cardinal Wizard known, and it made her rethink a few assumptions she’d made about Grand Master Ianto Jones.

“There’s also the obligatory dragon pile in the front room,” Baroness Eirlys continued, pointing to the first room off to the left.  Maria glanced inside and, sure enough, there was quite a pile of dragons there.  She could feel Iliad wanting to join them, so she gave her permission; Agamotto took the opportunity to slither down her Wizard and Iliad thoughtfully let the wingless dragon climb up his own back, in order to carry him in with the rest of the dragons.

Content that Iliad would stay where he was – no dragon could ever resist the call of a happy, sleepy, dragon pile – Maria accompanied Grand Master Stephen and Baroness Eirlys down past the stairs and into a fairly large dining area, the large oak table lined with chairs…and with people seated in the matching chairs or standing along the pale blue walls 

She was surprised at some of the people there.  Nick had apparently been teleported in from Triskelia; he was glowering at Mistress Pepper, as if she’d somehow personally offended him…or that might have had more to do with the fact that Baron Tony Stark was in the same room and, as far as Maria knew, Nick and the Baron Ferrous didn’t get along the times they got together for the Council of Barons. 

There were also two Elves, young enough to be students, sitting with a man who was a little older and a lot larger, and it didn’t take much for Maria to figure out they were Novices and teaching Master.  They were also obviously from her order, judging from the magical auras they each wore.

Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, was also present.  She was standing in the corner behind Nick, like some sort of bodyguard, and the last thing Maria had known was she’d been sent to see what she could dig up about Hydra.  Nick must have recalled her, when whatever the hells had happened, happened.  Her pale eyes were watching everyone in the room, and they met Maria’s as she and Grand Master Stephen entered, the assassin nodding slightly in acknowledgement of their appearance.

Also in the room were Grand Master Ianto Jones, and Captain Jack Harkness…the Deathless.

Maria hadn’t officially met either one, but she’d seen them enough times to easily recognize them.  Grand Master Ianto was a handsome man but, compared to Harkness… the Great Wizard wondered if there had been any sort of magical enhancement, because no man should be that good looking.  Brown hair, blue eyes, a jawline that any man would have killed for…Captain Harkness was a striking individual, standing beside the Cardinal Grand Master, almost touching, his blue shirt rolled up to his elbows and brown trousers and belt, on which hung a well-used longsword.

“Thank you for coming, Stephen,” Grand Master Ianto greeted them, his Cardiff accent making the words sound soft, “and Mistress Maria.  I’m sorry for calling you so precipitously.”

“That’s fine,” Grand Master Stephen waved off the apology. “From what Maria’s told me, it’s important.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Stephen,” Captain Harkness said, warmth in his words. 

“And you as well, Jack,” the Grand Master said, his voice humorous.

The Deathless turned to Maria.  He reached out to take her hand; Maria didn’t usually like that sort of thing, but for some reason it felt fine in this instance.  “And you are?”

“Jack,” Grand Master Ianto warned fondly.

“Why does no one let me say hello anymore?” Captain Harkness actually pouted.

Maria was actually charmed, despite the fact that this was the Deathless, he was over a thousand years old, and he shouldn’t exist. 

“Because, ‘hello’ for you is full-blown sexual harassment for anyone else,” the Cardinal Grand Master pointed out, “and this is Mistress Maria Hill, Head of Great Order for the Western Lands.  Mistress Maria, please excuse my husband, he’s in incorrigible flirt.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mistress Maria,” Captain Harkness said, and it was obvious that he actually meant it.  “I’m only sorry it was under these circumstances.”

“And just what are these ‘circumstances’?” she asked, regaining her equilibrium. “Grand Master Stephen said that Novice Daisy was missing?”

“That is correct,” Grand Master Ianto confirmed.  “Please, have a seat and we’ll get everyone caught up.”

Maria took a chair near the three Grand Wizards, very curious as to why they were there. Master Stephen found a seat next to Mistress Pepper; Baron Tony glared at him, as if not happy with him being that close to his wife.

“Now,” the Cardinal Grand Master took control of the meeting easily, and even Nick seemed to defer to him which was just a little bit weird in Maria’s opinion.  “I think that Novices Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz should begin.”

Both Elves looked understandably nervous at speaking in front of this particular audience.

Before either one could say anything, Maria found herself asking, “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure why two novices from my own order would be here.”

Her question seemed to irritate the young woman – Jemma Simmons, apparently – because she bristled and blurted. “Daisy is our friend!  And we’re the ones who noticed her gone!”

Maria felt her eyebrows raise in surprise.  She hadn’t expected to be told off by a Novice, of all things; especially one that claimed to be a friend of a Cardinal Wizard.

But Novice Jemma wasn’t finished.

“We don’t care what the propaganda says, about Cardinals and Voids.  We’ll be friends with whomever we want.”

Novice Leo piped up.  “We even have a Void friend!  Trip’s teaching Master is Master Jasper, who’s almost as nice as Daisy’s Dad is.”

“We’re not the only Greats who have other order friends,” Novice Jemma continued.  “Lincoln – his teaching Master is Master Gordon, who’s a bit of an arse –”

“I threatened to kill Gordon once,” the teaching Master with them stated calmly.

“With an enchanted axe!” Novice Leo exclaimed, his eyes glazing with such awe it almost bordered on hero worship.

“I still have that axe,” the man said fondly.

“He’s a Great, and he and Daisy are practically dating!”  She grinned, not skipping a beat despite the interruptions.  “I think it’s really sweet, and they’re wonderful together.”  Then she frowned.  “But he and Daisy get a lot of really nasty teasing about it.”

“They don’t care, though,” Novice Leo added.  “And neither do we.” 

Maria was stunned at their back and forth.  It hadn’t occurred to her that Wizards of her Order were friends with people from the other orders.  It really shouldn’t surprise her, she supposed, but when she’d been a student that sort of thing just wasn’t done.

And they thought the Dark One was nice!  She could hardly believe it.

Grand Master Stephen looked quite pleased, as did Grand Master Ianto and Mistress Pepper.  Everyone else in the room were either nodding in agreement, or they were Baron Tony, who was clapping, the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

“Well said, Novices,” Grand Master Stephen congratulated.  He turned his dark eyes toward Maria.  “This is our future, Maria.  These children, who don’t care who they have as friends…or who they date.”

“Why don’t we get back on point?” Grand Master Ianto suggested calmly.  “We’ll have time to discuss this sort of thing later.”  He turned to the Elves.  “Jemma…Leo…please tell us what happened to make you certain that Daisy is missing.”

Novice Jemma seemed to figure out who she’d just told off, because she blushed in embarrassment.  However, she didn’t apologize; instead, she told her story, about how she and Novice Leo had been in the lab, working on a project, when Novice Daisy had shown up.

Maria was a bit surprised that Daisy had known about Master Phil’s mission, and the two Elves didn’t elaborate on how she’d discovered that information.  They most likely either had no idea, or knew and didn’t think it was important.

It also seemed that the pair of Elves didn’t know who Daisy’s father really was, which wasn’t surprising in the least.  If Master Phil had meant to leave that part of himself behind, then he’d have done everything in his power to keep people from discovering his past. 

She was very impressed by the fact that these students had managed to create their own speaking stones.  She had to wonder whose idea that had been, and how they’d discovered the spells to actually make them work.

“We were finished up in about an  hour,” Novice Jemma went on, “so we went to meet Daisy at her dormitory room.  However, when we got there, her door was locked and her wards were intact.”

“She had wards on her dormitory room?” Captain Harkness interrupted.  “Why would a student need to do that?”

“Pranks,” Baroness Eirlys commented.  “There are dedicated pranksters in every year, and if a student didn’t want to come in and find their beds short-sheeted or covered in dragon dung, one learned to ward fairly early on.”  She smirked.  “It’s been a long time since you’ve been a student, Dad.”

“None of that, young lady,” the Deathless laughed, waggling a finger at her.  “I had much better things to do than attend any sort of fancy school like that.”

Maria could recall when she’d discovered that Eirlys was the biological daughter of both men, using a magical spell that no one was certain where it had originated from.  There were all sorts of rumors, but nothing solid, and she had to wonder if such a thing was a good idea.  There was something vaguely unnatural about the notion of a man being pregnant, but then both men were the very definition of unnatural to her. 

“Daisy’s wards are a bit stronger than most Novice’s,” Mistress Pepper added, proudly.  She waved a hand toward the Novices.  “Please, continue.”

“Thank you, Mistress Pepper,” Novice Jemma said gratefully. 

“When we didn’t find Daisy,” Novice Leo took up the story, “we did search for her, thinking she’d gone off somewhere, probably for something to eat, since she was still on Triskelia time, and it was getting late here.  We looked in the kitchens, and dining hall, and several other places she’s gone to before to eat, but she wasn’t to be found.  We even tried to Scry for her, using every map there was to be had in the library on the off-chance she’d left school for some reason, but when that didn’t work we fetched our speaking stones and contacted Trip, like she was going to do, and he said she never called him.”

“After about another hour,” Jemma jumped in, “we decided we needed to let someone know.”

“They came to me,” the Master beside them answered.  “I’m their teaching Master.”

“Daisy didn’t think Baron Nick would have gone to the Heads of Order,” Leo explained, “so we needed Master Mack to help us make someone listen to us.”

Master Mack.  Ah, that was why he looked familiar: he was Master Alphonso Mackenzie.  Maria had seen him at Order gatherings, but hadn’t known he was a teaching Master.  She’d heard good things about him, that he was a steady Master and popular with the students…when he wasn’t threatening other teaching Masters with an axe, apparently, which was most likely one of the reasons he was popular with _certain_ students.

“I thought we should go to Mistress Maria,” Master Mack said, giving her slight shrug, “but I knew she wasn’t in Gateway, and doesn’t really keep officer hours here.”

Maria couldn’t help it; Gateway made her uncomfortable, and stayed away as much as she possibly could.  She could have taken his statement as some sort of condemnation, only it was obvious he hadn’t meant it that way.

“So, I decided we’d go to Mistress Pepper instead,” he finished, “since she’s Novice Daisy’s teaching Master.”

“I wasn’t sure what to think,” Mistress Pepper confessed.  “So, the first thing I did was to check into the wards on Daisy’s room.  As I said, they were quite strong and rather comprehensive.  I was able to read them, and could tell that Daisy had only been into and out of the room once, and that had been earlier in the day.  She hadn’t made it back after talking to our two Novices, here.”

“You think she may have been waylaid somewhere between the laboratory building and the Cardinal dormitory,” Grand Master Ianto surmised.

“She was,” the Cardinal Mistress confirmed.  “I retraced the path and, not far from the dormitory, in that little patch of trees, I sensed the obvious stain of Void magic.  Now, it could have been a student casting something, but it was very new, within the last several hours.”

“That does make it seem as if Novice Daisy was taken by a Void Wizard,” Grand Master Stephen said.

“But how is that possible?” Maria wanted to know.  “The school is warded against that sort of thing.”

“There are ways around that,” Captain Harkness commented, his face grave.

That had Nick cursing like a sailor just in from the sea.  “They’re gonna use her to force Phil into doing whatever the hells they want him to.”

“I think that’s a fair assumption,” Grand Master Ianto agreed.

“Phil will do anything to ensure Daisy’s safety,” Mistress Pepper declared.  “He won’t risk her getting hurt.”

“Has anyone tried to contact him?” Grand Master Stephen asked.

“I called his mirror the second I heard about Daisy,” Nick said, “but his steward said he and Barton had already left.”

“The problem is,” Captain Harkness said, “we still don’t know what exactly these Hydra Voids plan on doing with him.  Although, I think we can at least guess it’s something about this Master Phil that they need for whatever they have planned.”

“He’s a really powerful Void,” Maria had to say. 

“Maria’s right,” Nick said.  “I wouldn’t hesitate to say he’s probably the most powerful Void Wizard in the world.  Shit, I watched him manipulate a Void Point once, and he wasn’t at all overwhelmed.  In fact, the bastard seemed to enjoy himself.”

Grand Master Ianto leaned forward in his chair.  “If he can do that, then he’s more powerful than the current Void Grand Master, Alexander Pierce.”

Maria’s eyebrows rose in shocked surprise.  No one should have been able to manipulate a Void Point; they were where the Void bubbled up into the world, and were strong sources of such magicks.  If Master Phil was indeed that powerful…

“And, with Hydra having Novice Daisy…”

Everyone in the room didn’t need Captain Harkness to finish that sentence.  Each and every one of them knew what that could mean.

Hydra thought that Phil Coulson was the key to their creating their own version of the Deathless.

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

Daisy swam back toward consciousness, her head pounding in time with her heartbeat.

Well, at least her heart was still beating.  She thought she had a right to be glad about this fact.

She tried to open her eyes, but failed on the first attempt.  She lifted a heavy hand to swipe across them, and found that they were crusted shut, as if she’d slept for days like that one time she’d been so sick.  Dad had spent every hour by her bedside, nursing her back to health, and if she hadn’t been inclined to love him already that would have been the game changer.

The young Wizard scrubbed her eyelids enough to get them wiped clear, then finally managed to open them.  Daisy found herself in a tiny room, on a bunk that was barely large enough for her; she could see Skye laying on the floor, the dragon perking up the moment she noticed that her Wizard was awake once more.  Skye bounded up, landing right on Daisy’s stomach.  She left out a whooping breath as the air was knocked from her lungs.

Still, she didn’t have the heart to scold Skye.  Instead, Daisy cuddled her familiar, letting her fear overwhelm her for just a moment, because the last thing she could recall was seeing Grant Ward on that path, his Hive dragons encircling him, and a wand in his hand.

He had to have cast some sort of sleep spell on her. 

There was one way to find out.  Raising her arm toward her face, Daisy took a sniff of her sleeve; yes, there was the unmistakable scent of lavender, the hallmark of a basic Sleep spell.

Shifting a protesting Skye a little, Daisy sat up, risking the throbbing in her skull getting worse in order to take a look around.  Her first impression of the room had been correct; it was small, with close stone walls and was really just the size of a pantry, windowless and gloomy and just a bit damp.  A single glowglobe was mounted on the wall over the metal door, and as she watched it flickered fitfully, the magic in it too feeble to keep the light steady.  The only furnishing was that bed, and it didn’t even have a blanket for her to wrap up in.

She couldn’t afford to have her fear rule her, though.  Her Dad had once told her that being afraid was natural, it was just what you did with it that counted.  She could lay there and freak out, or she could be ready for Ward – or whoever else was around – came for her, and try to escape.  They’d left her gauntlets on, which was something. However, the teleport pendant that would have taken her back to school was missing.

The only _other_ problem seemed to be that her magic was almost was weak as the light over the door.

Daisy thought about that.  It could either be another spell, or something about the room that was making it hard to access her magic, let alone the Deep Ways, which was probably why her head hurt so badly.  Being a Cardinal Wizard meant that the Deep Ways was as much a part of her as her very blood was, and to have it cut off like this was going to keep on hurting until she could get away from this place.  In the back of her mind, Daisy knew that this was just a very slow way to die, but she shoved that little voice back down, not wanting it to distract her.

She needed to work out what was going on.

Really, there was only one reason that Grant Ward, of all people, would have grabbed her.  Well, there were two…but she dismissed the one because, while she’d had certain feelings for him, Daisy was pretty sure those feeling hadn’t extended to Ward. 

No, Ward had been Garrett’s Novice before that mess with Jemma and Leo.  Daisy was willing to bet that he still was, despite Garrett’s rather public repudiation of Ward during the hearing on his actions in front of the Quorum.  The young Wizard was willing to bet that Ward was a part of this whole Hydra mess, just because Garrett was. 

There left the one reason for her kidnapping that fit current events.

Hydra had her.

And they’d taken her as a lever against her Dad.

Daisy couldn’t help but cuddle her dragon again, the fear this time for her Dad.  He was going to be walking into a trap, and they were going to use her in order to get him to do what they wanted him to.  Because he would.  Dad loved her, and was just about the only thing that he’d do anything to save.

She was his one, major, weakness.

Daisy cursed herself.  She should have gone straight to Baron Tony’s castle, instead of to the Wizard School just because she’d wanted to figure out a way to help Dad.  She’d walked right into a trap herself, because Garrett had sent Ward, believing that she’d do exactly what she’d done.

The school _should_ have been safe.  It was supposed to have been one of the safest places in the world, populated by all sorts of Wizards and soaking in the magic and Deep Ways of Gateway.  But Ward had found her.  He’d gotten in, despite the fact that he’d been expelled.  Once that had occurred, the magic _should_ have kept him out.

It hadn’t.  Daisy figured she had John Garrett to thank for that as well.

From outside the door, she thought she heard the scuff of a footstep.  Daisy clambered to her feet, tucking Skye up onto her shoulders, the best to have her hands free.  She might not have her magic at the moment, but she had her gauntlets, which were made from a strong, light metal that would pack a punch if she struck the right spot on a human body.  Plus, Melinda had taught her self-defense almost from the moment the older woman had arrived at Shield Keep, so maybe Daisy had a chance.

She had no idea where Ward had brought her, but hopefully there was a town or something nearby where she could go to ground long enough to contact either her Dad or Uncle Nick.  Anyway, she wasn’t going to go along with anything without fighting every step of the way.

The heavy metal door creaked open, revealing the very familiar face of Grant Ward, his little Hive dragons fluttering around his head.  Daisy remembered the first time she’d met him, and she’d thought the Hive had been the cutest things ever.  She knew they’d been born in the same egg, and shared a mind that meant they could act in concert with one another.  They were a very serous threat, even if she managed to overpower Ward.

Still, she had to try.

Ward gave her a small smile.  “Nice to see you again, Daisy.”

“Not so much for me,” she snarked back.  Surreptitiously, she settled back onto one foot, all the while trying to silently communicate that she was helpless.  She was hoping to get him into the room, where it might be easier to fight him.  Melinda had once told her that confined spaces could, sometimes, be a fighter’s best friend.

“I’m sorry about the way I had to bring you here.  But I knew you’d never come on your own.”

“Damned right I wouldn’t’ve!  What the hells do you want, Ward?”

“You used to call me Grant.”

“I used to like you, too.  That was before you tried to kill Jemma and Leo.”  She was still so very mad about that, especially since the pair hadn’t been any sort of threat to anyone.

“That was an accident – “

Daisy scoffed at that.

“And I do regret what happened.”

She doubted that he’d ever regretted any of his nasty deeds, but she didn’t say that out loud.

Ward took a step into the room.  “We needed you here, and you would never have cooperated.”

“What do you want with me?” She already knew, but another of Melinda’s lessons was that playing dumb lulled your enemies into underestimating you.

“Your father has something we want.  You’re…leverage.”

“And you didn’t think to just _ask_ him?”  Daisy let her voice quiver a little; not that that was hard, since she was fairly scared in that moment.  Not so much for herself, although the prospect of dying because she’d been cut off from the Deep Ways was certainly frightening. 

No, Daisy was terrified for her Dad.  Because, unless he hadn’t left the Keep yet and they’d managed to get word to him that she was missing, he would be walking into a trap. 

Ward’s smile grew just that much creepier.  “We doubt he’ll willingly help, when he finds out what we want him for.”

He took another step toward her.  Silently, she urged him closer, in the same moment mentally cautioning Skye about reacting to what the young Wizard was going to do.  She couldn’t see her dragon, but she could feel Skye shivering on her shoulders, the tiny quivers making her distress obvious.

Daisy could completely understand how her dragon felt.

“Just tell me what’s going on?” she whimpered.  It was one part act, a million parts upset and scared.  In the back of her mind, there was a tiny voice gibbering in terror, but Daisy wasn’t about to give in to it.  Her Dad was in trouble, and she was the only one who could warn him.

Sure, he had Clint Barton with him, and Daisy had liked the Elven archer almost immediately, but Clint was walking into the selfsame trap.  He’d once been a bad ass mercenary but even he could be killed if caught by surprise.  Loki was a prime example, even though he hadn’t exactly died.  From the vague description Uncle Nick had given her, and from the blood that had been on her Dad’s tunic when he’d found her, that would _should_ have been fatal.

And, while her Dad might have once been undeniably evil, he hadn’t been that way in a really long time…and, really, he hadn’t been like that back then, either.  He’d allowed himself to be convinced that he was, when he was actually one of the very best men in the world.  Daisy might have been a little biased, but even Uncle Nick agreed with her.

She knew he regretted what he’d done, but the young Cardinal Wizard couldn’t hold it in her to do so.  If Dad hadn’t done what he’d done, he might never have found her.  And Daisy couldn’t see herself with anyone else like she was with her Dad.

She would do anything she could to protect him.

“We’re just going to keep you nice and safe in here,” Ward told her.  “And, when we get what we want, we’ll let you go.”

Daisy doubted that.  She knew about Ward, and she didn’t think that Hydra would want to lose such a valuable hostage by setting her free afterward.  No, anyway this went, Daisy was going to be killed.  She was absolutely positive of that fact.  Either they’d take that step themselves, or they’d let her rot away in this room, her magic smothered until it eventually destroyed her.

Still, she did the best she could to sell it to Ward that she believed him.  “You promise?” she pleaded, clasping her hands as if she was begging.  She had no idea when she became such an actress, but figured it had more to do with the life or death situation she was in than any sort of talent on her part.

“Of course,” her kidnapper assured, sounding completely and utterly sincere.

Daisy wanted to believe him.  But she knew better.  He’d sounded that sincere standing in front of the tribunal, trying to convince them that what he’d done to Jemma and Leo had been accidental despite the overwhelming evidence against him.

Ward took a couple more steps forward, his arms coming up as if he was going to hug her.  “It’s good to see you again.”  He seemed to be completely taken in by her, which had been the entire point of the exercise.

This distraction on Ward’s part was Daisy’s best chance.

She threw a punch right to his face, slamming her gauntlet into that perfect cheekbone of his.

Ward’s head snapped back, and she didn’t let him regain any sort of equilibrium, following up her punch with a second one right to his rock-hard abs.  Ward buckled forward, at which point Daisy kneed him right in the balls.

It was oh-so satisfying.

The Hive dragons were shrieking as they attempted to go to the rescue of their Wizard.  Daisy threw her hands up to protect her face as she darted past the writhing Grant Ward, yet she still got a scratch across her cheek before she was out of the room and slamming the door behind her.  Skye did her best to keep the Hive dragons away, but she was only one dragon attempting to fight off five.

A slide bolt was on the outside, and she slid it across the jamb and into its housing, locking Ward inside.  She didn’t take time to celebrate, looking around for a way out.  The corridor she was in stretched in both directions, and she chose one direction randomly, even as she was prodding her magic to see if it would work yet.

It didn’t, but out of that cell Daisy could now tell why that was.

Cardinals and Voids were diametrically opposite.  And this entire place was awash in Void magic.  It was effectively smothering her own, but Daisy didn’t think that this would necessarily kill her, not like having her magic cut off completely.  She might have a chance; after all, she lived with a pretty powerful Void Wizard, and knew what it was like to react to that sort of overpowering magic settled around her.  She could deal with this. 

She just needed to get the hells out of there.

The corridor ended in a set of stairs, going upward.  Daisy didn’t hesitate, running up them, sending Skye a little ahead as a lookout.  The emotions coming from her dragon bolstered her own fierceness and determination, and she let it roll over her as she ascended toward whatever was waiting for her above.

The stairs took her to a partially closed door.  Pressing her ear against it as Skye landed at her feet, Daisy strained to make out if anyone was on the other side.  It was quiet, and she really wished she could extend her magic outward, to feel her way forward, but that wasn’t possible at the moment.  She would have to rely on her normal senses to get her out of wherever she was.

There didn’t seem to be any sound on the other side of the door, so Daisy took the chance and pushed it open, revealing another hallway, this one lined with doors that all seemed to be closed.  There was a thick, wine red carpet on the floor and portraits on the walls, and if Daisy was the one to have flights of fancy she would have sworn that everyone in those paintings was watching her.  A little shiver went down her spine as she stepped into the corridor, wondering which way she should go next.

Glancing down toward one end of the hall, she could see a large window that let light in, so that had to be an outside wall.  There wouldn’t be any way to escape that way – unless she was keen on jumping out that window, which she supposed she could, only she had no idea how far up she was.  If it was farther than a few feet, she could very well hurt herself badly enough that she’d become a sitting duck.  There was no guarantee that her magic would come back to full strength either once she was outside, and it seemed like too much of a risk to take.

So, the young Wizard turned her back on it, and made her way down in the other direction.

Surprisingly, she didn’t see anyone around.  Surely, there had to be other people here, if they were waiting for her Dad to show up.  All she could do was hope her luck held until she got out of this place.

Her luck didn’t hold.

Just as she was reaching the end of the hallway, which seemed to open up onto a balcony that overlooked another floor, accompanied by a set of stairs that curved gracefully downward, someone stepped forward, blocking her way.

It was a man, but there was something off about him.  Daisy was sure if her magic was working she’d be able to tell what that was, but for now she had to go on appearances.

The man was tall.  He had brown hair that fell to his shoulders, and looked as if it needed a good washing, since it was lank and filthy.  Dark, blank eyes regarded her, no emotion in them, and they were the only part of his face she could make out, the rest was obscured by a mask of some sort that covered his mouth, cheeks, and jaw and looked disturbingly like a muzzle.  He was dressed all in black leather armor…except for the metal arm on his left side, and that gleamed dully in the ambient light from glowglobes that had been placed on the walls of the balcony.

He was bristling with weapons.  There was a sword at one hip, and a whip on the other.  Daisy could see knives all over his person.  He wasn’t bothering to hide anything he was carrying, which was possibly more frightening than all those blades being hidden. 

For some reason, Skye didn’t hiss or make any sort of move to attack the man. 

Daisy took a single step back, knowing that there was no way she could fight this man off on her own.  He didn’t make any sort of move, but then he didn’t have to.  He was menacing just standing still. She didn’t ever want to _see_ him in motion.

“Um,” she said, “look, I just want to leave, alright?”

The man said nothing.

“I was brought here against my will, and I would just really like to go home.”

Nothing.

“Ah,” a voice said from behind her, sounding vastly amused, “I see you’ve met the Winter Knight.”

Daisy spun in place, not wanting to put her back to Sir Menacing but needing to confront the newcomer.  The man was older, with graying reddish hair, and could have easily been someone’s grandfather if not for the sheer aura of darkness that surrounded him like a cloak.  His pale eyes were smiling, even though his mouth wasn’t, and the young Wizard got the distinct impression that he was laughing at her.  His robes were richly embroidered, and were a deep blue; it was obvious he was from money, from the tailoring and the fabrics and the understated jewelry he was wearing.  His belt had the usual Wizard’s wand and dagger, also looking like he’d spent a lot of money on them. 

His dragon was enormous, towering over the Wizard’s shoulder, steel gray with blue eyes that were glowing angrily; there was several odd scratches on its flank, as if it had been in some sort of fight recently.  Skye hissed, jumping down from Daisy’s shoulders and mantling her wings in challenge.  Daisy was suddenly terrified for her, and she knelt down beside the smaller dragon, grabbing her and holding her closely.  To Daisy’s gratitude, Skye didn’t fight her, but then she had to have been sensing just how scared her Wizard was.

The man’s lips quirked upward in a superior smirk.  “That was the smartest thing you’ve done so far, Miss Coulson,” he told her.  “Your dragon wouldn’t have stood a chance against my Insight.”

The gray dragon, in response to that, licked its muzzle, as if it was eager to bite Skye…or even Daisy, for that matter.  The Novice wanted to move away, but with the so-called Winter Knight behind her, she didn’t dare.

Daisy was literally trapped between these two men.   Her heart was pounding fit to burst, and it was all she could do not to cry, because she didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her so upset.  Her magic wasn’t working, so she couldn’t even defend herself, and she very much doubted that the lessons Melinda had given her would work against the Winter Knight. 

She suddenly wanted her father so badly it made her gasp, but he couldn’t come to her rescue because these bastards wanted him in particular, and they weren’t above using her to get what they wanted. 

“Now,” the man continued, “I think we can find you a more comfortable room while we chat with your father.  Our friend here will see that you stay there.”

Daisy hadn’t even heard the Winter Knight move until a hand had landed on her shoulder.  It was actually surprisingly gentle, turning the young woman around and pressing her back down the hall.  Before she even knew what she was doing, she begged, “Please don’t hurt my Dad!”

The man gave her a pleased smile.  “I think you’ll find it’s a little late for that.”

In that heartbeat, Daisy knew that Dad was already there.  That she’d been unconscious long enough for him to arrive.  She wondered if she should scream, to let him know somehow that she was there.

But she didn’t dare.

She couldn’t distract him from whatever it was he was doing.  The last thing Daisy wanted to do was to put her Dad into even more danger than he was already in. No, she would have to wait, and see if she might be able to try to escape again.

So, she let the Winter Knight guide her back down the hallway.  He stopped at one of the closed doors; twisting the handle, he pushed open the door to reveal a sumptuous-looking bedroom.  Still being surprisingly gentle, he shoved her into the room, and then closed the door.  There wasn’t any sort of sound of a lock engaging, but then he really didn’t have to do that, did he?  Not if he was right outside, because Daisy wasn’t getting past him without her magic.

Cuddling Skye close, Daisy collapsed onto the bed, and finally gave into the urge to cry. 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

 

Clint didn’t think he’d ever get used to teleporting.

Yes, it was useful when traveling long distances, but there was something about it that made him a little nauseous every single time. 

However, there was something about the spell on the bracelet that made him a little extra nauseous this time, but he managed to hide it.  Clint supposed it hadn’t been enchanted for comfort, although Phil looked as unaffected as the archer hoped he, himself, did.

In fact, Phil looked very un-Phil-like at the moment.

While he’d only been around the new version of Phil Coulson for only a few hours, there was something jarring about the man who stood beside him now.  Yes, Clint had known his persona of the Dark One a lot longer, but Phil Coulson had been his _true_ self, and the Elf had been honored at being allowed to see that side of his old friend.  He’d…well, loved it, not to put too fine a point on it, realizing that this caring man had been hidden under all those layers of Void Wizard that had been a part of Clint’s life for years.  He’d seen it, but then Clint often saw things better than anyone else, and to be honest it had only been a hint of the man who now inhabited the familiar body of the Void Wizard.

Phil was now endearing, as well as gorgeous.

But he’d pulled on the old mask that the Dark One had been known for.  Clint could see just what a bad fit it was now, although he doubted anyone else would.  They also wouldn’t notice the missing anger, that had once inhabited every action the Dark One had taken.  The preternatural calm was back, though, as was the implied threat to the world at large, but it was apparent – to Clint, anyway, who’d known him back then – that the anger was gone.

He’d have to thank Daisy when he saw her again, for bringing out the man Phil should have been all along.

Clint stood just behind Phil’s left shoulder, Lola sitting at attention at the Wizard’s feet, as they appeared at their destination.  It was a large room, an open foyer of a sort, with a sweeping staircase along one side leading up to a large balcony-like area that had a couple of doors leading into rooms and what appeared to be a hallway off to the left.  The foyer itself had one room off to the side, while the area itself led deeper into the building and what had to be even more rooms that he couldn’t see from where he was standing.  An enormous chandelier lit the expansive area, gleaming down onto dark wood furniture and leather chairs.  The carpet itself was a light gray. 

A man stood, waiting.  He was as tall as Phil, with dark hair and eyes, stocky but not out of shape and wearing black formal Wizard’s robes.  A brown and black dragon was crouched at the man’s feet, but Clint caught the moment it noticed there was an Elf in the room by the slight creeping movement it made toward him.

He barely hid a smirk.  Yep, every time.

The man greeted them with a big, insincere smile.  “Phil!  I see you decided to join us.”  The smile slipped as he took in Clint’s appearance.  “And I see you decided to bring someone along, despite us asking you not to.”

From where Clint was standing, he couldn’t see Phil’s expression, but he could imagine the single, raised eyebrow.  “And you honestly expected me to agree to that?”  His voice was calm, deadly calm.

The smile turned decidedly sly.  “Of course not.  But an Elf? Really?”

Clint didn’t let the man’s demeaning tone bother him.  He’d heard much worse.

“Then you apparently don’t know who you’re dealing with,” Phil countered.  He didn’t elaborate, which seemed to irritate the Wizard even though he attempted to hide it. “John, certainly we have better things to do than to question my choice of companions.”

Ah, so this was Master John Garrett.  Clint didn’t want to be impressed, but there was something about the man that had his internal alarms jangling.  He was definitely going to be keeping an eye on the asshole.

“You’re right,” Garrett answered, as if was conceding gracefully, when in fact he wasn’t.  “Shall we meet the others?”

He waved an arm toward the rear of the house.  Phil simply waited for the other man to move, which Garrett did.  Phil stayed three steps behind, which showed good sense.

Not on Garrett’s part, though.  The Dark One had been extremely dangerous in his time.  Showing _that_ particular Wizard his back was either incredibly stupid, or fatally arrogant. 

Probably both, in this case.

Garrett led them past the staircase and into a wide hall, with doors on either side, some of them open.  Clint kept a surreptitious eye out, noticing an ornate dining area, with a single long table down the center of the room; a smaller sitting room that would have been cozy anywhere else but there; and what was an ostentatiously decorated privy, all done in black and gold…which really was also extremely tacky.  There were a couple of closed doors, one at least the Elf was willing to bet led to some sort of casting chamber just from the vibe he was getting from it.

“I see you’ve built this place right on top of a Void Point,” he commented blandly.

Ah, so _that_ was what was wrong.  From the moment they’d appeared, Clint had noticed something strange about their surroundings, as if the shadows were moving.  Being on a Void Point would certainly explain why the archer was feeling slightly creeped out.

Normally, Void magic didn’t bother him; after all, he was…infatuated with a pretty powerful Void Wizard, and there really wasn’t a thing creepy with Phil Coulson.  Back in the day, he’d been angry and callous and careless, but Clint had even known at the time that that had been some sort of personality he’d worn to cover up an unknown inner pain…and now, he knew he’d been correct in what he’d seen.  But there hadn’t been any sign of strangeness in him, not like what was going on around them now.

It really was taking everything within him not to have his bow out, arrow on the string. 

What _was_ keeping him from doing that was Phil’s calmness, and that extended itself to Lola, who walked proudly by Phil’s side, head held high, as if she was the Mother of all Dragons, the very Queen of Air and Fire, herself.  Dragons could be an excellent window onto a Wizard’s inner emotions, so either Phil was feeling just as arrogant or that dragon knew how to _act_.

Their escort gave a wide grin over his shoulder.  “We simply found the place, but the Void Point does come in useful. Keeps anyone from detecting the sorts of magical experiments we do here.”

Experiments? 

No, that wasn’t worrying _at all._

Garrett took them to a room at the far end of the house.  The door was open, revealing what seemed to be some sort of conference room, another table – this one round – taking up a large part of the space.  There were shelves, with glassed-in doors, along one wall, filled with what had to have been magical books, scrolls, and artifacts. 

There was a drinks cabinet against another wall, bottles lining its racks, stemware hanging upside down from the lower rack and rock crystal glasses resting on the bar, ready for use. 

A massive window looked out over a large bay, the sun gleaming on the placid water.  If Clint was any judge, they were somewhere on the western coast, from the angle of the sun.  It was a gorgeous view.  Too bad it was a view from a hidden lair of evil.

There were three other men and a woman seated at the table.  Standing against the far wall were four younger looking Wizards, three women and a man, various dragons spread about the room in different poses of readiness, including a group of five identical ones that seemed to be part of a whole, just from the way they interacted with one another.

Each and every dragon turned the moment they entered the room, but Clint knew it was because of him.  He inwardly smirked, knowing that he automatically had a defense against reach and every dragon in the room.  As matter of fact, two of the five identical dragons, which were all an almost pale white, were instantly all over Clint, and he couldn’t help but reach up and give them each a skritch as they rested on his shoulders. 

The younger man looked put out, while Garrett rolled his eyes.  “Can’t control your dragons, Grant?”

Grant didn’t look pleased at being called out like that, especially when two of the other dragons also made their way over, to demand the Elf’s attention. 

“John,” one of the men chided gently.  He was an older man, with reddish hair heavily dusted with gray. 

Clint recognized him instantly.

Grand Master Alexander Pierce, head of all of Void Order.

Well, shit.  It seemed as if Nick had been right about not contacting him, although the reason for it had been the wrong one.

Phil ignored everyone else, to pin his gaze on Pierce.  “I would like to say this is a surprise, Alexander, but it really isn’t.”

It was Pierce’s turn to not be best pleased, and this time it was by Phil’s familiarity.  “Master Phil,” he said, instead of doing the whole chiding thing, “we’re glad you could join us.  Please…have a seat.  Would you care for wine? Or a stronger spirit?”

“No, thank you.”  The Void Wizard made those three simple words sound as if he’d just found some particularly nasty smelling shit on the sole of his boot.  “I would, however, like to get on with business.  I’d really appreciate being able to get home by dinnertime.  I understand there’s going to be lamb.”

One of men – Clint was pretty sure it was Master Gideon Malick, head of Void Order for the Western Lands, although he’d only seen the man once – let his eyes flicker toward Pierce, then back to Phil.  He also didn’t look at all happy by their ‘guest’s’ attitude, which was like a big old _fuck you_ to everyone in the room. 

Really, it was a thing of beauty.  Clint was so glad that Nick had insisted him come along, even though he was still a bit mad at Phil for faking his death.

“Then, let me introduce you to the rest of our group –“ Pierce began.

“No need,” Phil cut him off.  “I know who you all are.”

Well, Clint wished _he_ did.

As if reading his mind, Phil began reeling off names.  “We have Master Gideon Malick, head of Void Order,” he nodded toward the man, confirming Clint’s own memories.  The man was also older, a bit stockier than Pierce, with intense eyes and a jowly face.

“Master Daniel Whitehall.”

That man had gray hair, and wore round, wire-rimmed spectacles. This man was smiling, but it was a like watching a snake preparing to lunge for his prey.  He was fashionably dressed in a tunic suit and matching trousers, and was handsome in an oily way.

“Mistress Catherine Hale.”

That was the lone woman at the table.  She was blonde, sitting ramrod straight, and Clint was willing to bet she’d once been in a branch of the military.  Today, she was dressed all in black, like everyone there, and it was like the biggest cliché about Void Wizards _ever_.

Not that Phil fell into that cliché.  Mainly by dint of him being drop dead _gorgeous_ in black. 

“And, of course, Master John Garrett.”

“Saved the best for last, huh?” Garrett joked.

Clint thought that he might be the first to benefit from an arrow in the eye.

“And your guest?” Pierce inquired, trying to sound friendly but it slipped a little, revealing just how unhappy he was at Phil showing him up.

Phil didn’t say a word.  The small, _fuck you,_ smile was loud and clear.

“Actually,” Whitehall spoke up, “I believe this might be the infamous mercenary, known as the Hawk.”

Clint didn’t respond, except to keep on lavishing loves on the dragons who’d broken ranks and had collapsed under his Elvish charms.

“He doesn’t look like much,” one of the children, a brightly blonde girl with sharp features, commented.  Clint could tell at once that she was a bit more than a Wizard; she held herself like a fighter.  He’d have to watch out for her.

Usually, he would have smacked her down, either verbally or physically, but he and Phil were currently in the bad guys’ lair and he didn’t want to risk a confrontation.

Not at the moment, at least.

“Ruby,” Hale cautioned, voice cracking with anger, doing Clint’s job for him.

Ruby sniffed, but she backed off.  Either she was Hale’s Novice, or her daughter, from their resemblance to each other.  The Elf thought it might have been both.

Just as he was certain that the other blonde girl and Malick were also related.  It was obvious, and Phil most likely realized it as well.

“And these are our Novices,” Pierce said.  “Grant Ward…Stephanie Malick…Raina…and Ruby Hale.”

Yep, Clint had been right about the parental connections.

So, these were Hydra.  To Clint, it made sense.  Having Pierce involved meant that they could have been working underground for a lot longer than anyone may have thought, with the Grand Master of Voids protecting them.  Pierce was also ostensibly the most powerful Void Wizard currently alive, although he rather thought Phil was that much more powerful.  And being on this Void Point was likely only making him more powerful.

“Shall we get down to business, then?” Pierce suggested.  His irritation had been covered up by a superior smile, as if he had a secret that they weren’t going to like.  That set off even more alarm bells in Clint’s instincts and, when Phil took a seat at the table, Clint stood just behind him, watching his back.  It was a good thing no one had told him to leave, because that would have caused a major source of mayhem if they had.

He sent the dragons back to their masters, then settled in to keep his eye on proceedings.  It wouldn’t do to miss something because he was distracted by dragons.

“As Master John might have told you,” Pierce began, “we think we may have found a way to create our own version of the Deathless.”

“That’s what he said, yes,” Phil said, sounding almost bored.  “Although, I have to doubt that, to be honest.  Everyone knows the conditions that brought about the Deathless cannot be repeated.  It’s been tried.”

The crafty expression on Pierce’s face had Clint stiffening.  “And to be honest right back, we think it’s already been done.  To you.”

What?

Phil was silent, but Lola…Lola, who had taken up a position next to Clint, the better to be closer to her Wizard, let out such a shriek that everyone in the room jumped.  The Elf knelt beside her, wrapping an arm around her as she wailed, loss and pain and terror echoing in her cries.  Clint had never seen a dragon so distressed before, and he cuddled her close, his dedication to not being distracted lost as he tried to comfort her. 

A hand came down, touching Lola on the head, silencing her as completely as if Phil had cast a Silence spell on her.  The hand was perfectly still, not giving any indication that what Pierce had claimed was shocking, or that he was affected by Lola’s cries.

Instead, there was laughter.

It was cold, and disdainful, and it was a sound that Clint had heard from the Dark One before…but not Phil.  His Phil, the man he’d decided to court once all of this was over, after he punched him, of course.  Not the Dark One, who could dance on a Void Point or casually cast spells that would burn entire towns down to the ground.  If this was still an act, it was the very best one that Clint had ever seen.

That laughter had Clint back on his feet, the better to see the reactions of everyone else in the room.  The rest of the Void Wizards had expressions that ranged from surprise to anger, as if Phil’s – no, the Dark One’s – terrible laughter was some sort of insult they wanted to avenge, but didn’t dare.

Pierce was certainly intimidated, but he stood up, leaning across the table toward Phil.  Clint tensed, not liking this turn of events at all, wishing he was standing so that he could see Phil’s expression but almost afraid to.

“We know what happened with Loki,” the words were an accusation.  “We know he killed you.”

“And you know that, how?” Phil – no, this was the Dark One, and not an act this time – inquired lightly, sounding extremely amused by the Grand Master.

“I spoke to him,” Whitehall spoke up, eyes hard behind his spectacles.  “He’s a prisoner in Asgard, but I was able to get in without anyone knowing.  He confirmed that he stabbed you through the heart.”

“It seems to me,” the Dark One purred, “that he missed, because here I am.”  He flung his arms out, as if he was trying to embrace everyone in the room.

“It seems to _us_ ,” Garrett put in, “that Loki killed you and you came back to life.”

The sigh was tired and yet playful at the same time.  “Certainly every single one of you knows that the Deathless already has a counterpart.  And it’s not me.”  The Dark One rose from his chair.  “Now, we are done here.  Because you all have gotten your facts wrong.  Loki did stab me…but I recovered, and not because I died.  I am not your Void version of the Deathless.  That’s someone else entirely.  And, since you obviously haven’t a clue, I think I’m wasting my time.  I’ll be taking my leave.”

When the Dark One pivoted on his heel, in order to stride from the room, Clint got his first look at the man’s face…

And was immediately stunned to realize this was someone completely _different_.

It was like back in the study at Shield Keep…Phil’s eyes had gone completely black.  There was such a sharpness in that awful glare, something that wasn’t entirely human any longer, coldness and darkness and a total lack of any sort of humanity in that gaze.  Those eyes met his, and something in them changed; the blackness faded back to blue, and confusion clouded them for a moment before Phil was completely back, and he was getting himself under control.

“You may want to rethink leaving,” Malick called out.

Phil turned back.  “And what could you possibly say to stop me from walking right out of that door?”

Garrett’s grin was skeletal and lacking in any warmth.  “We have your kid.”

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

 

Phil had no idea what had just occurred. 

One moment, Pierce was accusing him of being like the Deathless, and the next…he was standing, staring at Clint, seeing the badly hidden horror in his eyes and feeling Lola’s distress through their link.  Something had happened, but he simply couldn’t recall what it was.

Then Garrett had announced they had Daisy.

The Wizard didn’t even think.

The Void magic was so powerful around him, he had no issue with grabbing onto it and using it to supplement his own power.  He soaked up every bit of Void he could, and used it against the people who’d dared to kidnap his daughter.

The other Void Wizards must have known what he was doing, because they were retaliating, dodging for cover even as they let loose their chosen spells.  Raising his left arm, Phil triggered the spell on the bracer he was wearing, and his strongest shield was up and covering himself, Clint, and Lola, supplemented by their proximity to the Void Point.  It flared a brilliant blue, tinged with black, as the thrown spells impacted against it, but it held easily.

He bent over to pull one of the knives from his boot.  With a flex of his magic, Phil sent it unerringly toward Ruby, who had thought she could attack him and get away with it.  Phil was a highly powerful Void; Ruby Hale was a child, and no matter how advanced she was in her training she was still a Novice, and she didn’t stand a chance against his Void-fueled throw.  He’d aimed to incapacitate, however, not wanting to kill a youngster, and the knife embedded itself into her upper thigh, effectively taking her out of the fight.

The unmistakable singing of Clint’s bowstring sounded just behind his ear, and Phil trusted the Elf implicitly not to accidentally hit him; Clint Barton never missed, and this time was no different.  The arrow, one of the enchanted ones Phil had given him, penetrated the hastily thrown-up shield that Whitehall had erected, to slam home into his shoulder, sending the man to the carpet. 

Two down.

Lola wasn’t one to be left out of the fight. 

Dragons sometimes had an extra ability beyond the usual fire breathing, and Lola was one of them who did.  It was to embiggen herself, so that she towered over even the largest dragon in the room, a steel gray one who wasn’t afraid to confront the other dragon.  They clashed, Lola screaming out a war cry as she went on the offensive.

Clint sent more arrows out toward their attackers even as Phil was calling more of the Void magic to him.  He cast a Blast spell, which sent Garrett hurtling backward into the wall, rattling the drinks cabinet and breaking several of the glasses and bottles.  He went down and didn’t get back up again.

The door behind them slammed open.  Phil had guessed there would be reinforcements, and he called back over his shoulder, “Can you deal with the new quests?”

“Wizards are more your forte,” the Elf replied.  “Go get ‘em, I’ve got this bastard.”

Without saying anything else, Phil grabbed up more of the Void force, shaping it into thick bands that he used to wrap around Pierce and the Novice, Stephanie, pinning them to the ground.  He followed suit with Malick and Ward, wanting to get them out of the fight before they could attempt to overwhelm both him and Clint.  The dragons were next, but to his delight Lola had managed to wound the gray one, long bleeding scratches along its flank that had it floundering a little in the fight.

It was over.

“Stop!” the shout had him hesitating for a moment, as he turned to face one of the other Novices, Raina.  Her dark eyes were shining, and in a heartbeat Phil was caught up in them, mesmerized by the magic he saw.

He’d lost track of Raina.

“Don’t you want to know what was done to you?” she murmured, words like the sweetest honey dripping from a fresh comb.  “Don’t you want to know what happened after you were killed?  You know your heart cries out for the answer, and we can help you find it…”

Phil had always wanted to understand just what had happened.  He’d convinced himself that he hadn’t truly died, that it had been a mistake when they’d put him in that morgue with all the rest of the bodies.  That Loki’s spear hadn’t really skewered him like a pig on a spit, that he hadn’t seen the tip of that weapon emerge his chest from the back, where Loki had attacked.  Gods, Phil had been so arrogant into thinking he could fight off that mad Wizard, because he hadn’t taken the time to study his opponent, and hadn’t known about the Asgardian’s own power of illusion.

Had he died?  That was impossible, despite what Loki had told Whitehall.  Because only the Deathless came back from being killed, and Phil wasn’t the Deathless.

Still, there was a part of him that felt as if they were right.  That, somehow, he had died and the Void had brought him back.  What Raina was offering him…the chance to understand, to figure out just what had happened during the battle, and why he’d awakened in that morgue…

Without even thinking about it, Phil let his shield sputter out, leaving himself and Clint defenseless.

“Phil!” a voice was calling out to him, but he couldn’t respond.  He was trapped within Raina’s mesmeric gaze, and she whispered words to him, promises to figure out what had truly happened to him, all those years ago, to make sense of it in a way he could finally understand.

Gods, he wanted to know so badly…

The fight around him no longer mattered.

None of it mattered.

Only his need for answers did.

But someone called out to him once more, a voice he loved, demanding his attention away from the woman who was making such dark promises to him that he wanted to ignore whatever the other voice was saying.

“Remember, they have Daisy!”

Daisy.

His daughter.

They had his daughter.

And that reminder was from Clint, the man he’d cared for longer than he’d ever admit, back when he was lost in his anger and feeling as if he didn’t have the right to love and to be loved in return.

With a painful, mental snap, Phil was back in his own mind once more.  He raised a fist and would have slammed it into Raina’s smirking face if not for the fact that someone had grabbed him from behind, slipping something around his neck that, suddenly, made him lose all connection with the Void.

He felt his heart sputter in reaction, his chest tighten with pain, as if he’d been stabbed all over again, the agony spiking throughout the rest of his body, fear and acceptance and loss drowning under it. 

Phil dropped to his knees, unable to breathe, his lungs seizing under the sudden lack of the Void magic that had flowed through him like his own life’s blood.  His heart labored to beat, and his left arm went numb with cold.  His head began to pound out of time with what was left of his heartbeat, his hearing fading away and his sight darkening.

Someone was screaming his name.  A dragon was shrieking in agony.  But Phil couldn’t react.  There was nothing left within him to do so.

The Void closed over him, welcoming him to the soft darkness of death.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

 

“I’m going to ask the Avatar for help.”

Ianto’s words caused a bit of an uproar; some of it of the kind that thought it was a really bad idea, and others excited at the prospect of meeting the elusive Avatar of Gateway.

Pepper had never met the Avatar, despite the fact that she was a Cardinal Wizard and one of Ianto’s former Novices.  The Avatar was a sentient link to the Deep Ways, created when Lady Rose Tyler cast the original spell that drained the Nameless Demons of their lifeforce, but Lady Rose hadn’t been able to control all that magic, and so it had been channeled into what most people thought of as a Cardinal Point …and into Captain Harkness, creating the Deathless.  Somehow, and no one knew how, that very act gave this strange new Cardinal Point in Gateway a form of intelligence, and would talk to people when motivated to do so.  That motivation didn’t happen very often, so Pepper found herself really looking forward to seeing the actual Avatar.

What made it even a more fantastic feat was that Lady Rose had been a Great Wizard, not a Cardinal.  No one really understood how she’d done it, and it had never been duplicated since.

“Why is that necessary?” Mistress Maria complained.  She didn’t look happy, but then Pepper could understand.  Anything to do with the Deep Ways made her twitchy, and the Cardinal Master hoped that, someday, her Great counterpart would get over it.

“The Avatar is a part of the Deep Ways that live here in Gateway,” Ianto explained.  “She may have been a witness to Novice Daisy’s kidnapping.”

“Why can’t the Avatar just tell us?” Grand Master Stephen was intrigued.

“She needs help from my magic to manifest.  She could very well have seen something, but is unable to tell us.  I’ll need to summon her here.”

“It used to not be that way,” Jack added.  “The Avatar could just show up whenever she wanted to.”

“But,” the Cardinal Grand Master continued, “with the resurgence of magic, she’s become pulled in different directions through the Deep Ways, and it’s become harder for her to appear in one place.  Essentially, the Avatar exists everywhere the Deep Ways do, because she _is_ the Deep Ways, and with more and more Cardinal Wizards appearing, she’s being stretched thin.  There’s just this little piece of her that can communicate directly…with help.  Someday, even that part might be gone, subsumed back into the Deep Ways.”

Pepper thought that sounded unbelievably sad.

“And you think she may have seen something?” Novice Jemma was practically vibrating in anticipation.

“It’s very possible.”

“We should do this quickly,” Pepper said.  “We don’t know what they might be doing with Master Phil.”

She was very afraid for her friend.  It had been bad enough when he was going into danger with the Hawk at his side; knowing that Hydra had gotten a hold of Daisy in order to coerce him into whatever actions they needed him to do was absolutely frightening.  What made it even worse was the idea that they still had no real information about what they were planning in the first place, only that it had to do with the Deathless.

And the Widow obviously hadn’t had time to find out anything.  The assassin’s face was impassive, but she hadn’t volunteered anything so far, which led Pepper to believe there wasn’t anything to add.  Everything was happening too fast, but hopefully this might give her something to go on.  Baron Nick trusted in her abilities to find answers they were lacking, so Pepper accepted that trust.

“So,” Tony spoke up, “when does this thing happen?  Whatever this thing is?”

As glad as Pepper was that Tony was with her, he really hadn’t known about the Avatar.  She knew Ianto would excuse that, since her husband wasn’t a Wizard, but there really wasn’t time to explain.  Pepper would do that herself, when they had a chance.  She reached up for his hand, and he took it, squeezing her fingers in a gesture of understanding.

Honestly, he was really behaving himself.  Tony could be abrasive and arrogant and argumentative, but he was reining it all in at the moment, probably out of the sheer curiosity he had to be feeling.  She’d have to watch out for it later, once things weren’t so dire and he had his explanations.  Then he’d return to his usual self, she could guarantee it.

The Cardinal Grand Master knew that as well, having had to deal with him before, and he gave Tony a grateful smile for his obvious restraint.  “Now, actually.  It would work better outside in the garden, where the wards on the property aren’t so strong.”

And, with that, they all trooped outside.  The back garden was bright with flowers and trees, the scent of them pleasant to the nose.  Pepper knew that Eirlys was the one who tended it, and it was a tribute to her green thumb that everything was so very lovely.  If she wasn’t the Baroness Gateway, Pepper would have asked her to come and take care of the gardens at Ferrous Castle.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Pepper volunteered.  As one of the only other two Cardinals in attendance, she thought she should at least ask. 

“Thank you,” Ianto said, smiling, “but this is something I’ll need to do on my own.  Don’t be concerned, though, if you suddenly feel as if something is tugging on your magic.  I don’t _believe_ she’ll need you to supplement what I’ll be providing, but it could happen.”

With those final words, the Grand Master stepped away from the group.  Jack joined him, reaching out and taking Ianto’s hand.  Ianto smiled at his husband, and the silent communication between them was something special to witness. 

Someone reached for Pepper’s own hand, and she turned and gave Tony the same smile that Ianto had Jack.  He might not have been a Wizard, but he supported her in ways that no one would have thought of.  She loved him with all her heart, even during those times when he completely exasperated her.

“I never thought I’d live to see the Avatar,” Novice Jemma whispered, her voice trembling in sheer excitement.  It was so good that these young Great Wizards were friends with Daisy; she deserved as many friends as she could get, and being of a different order to boot was better, showing their group’s lack of ingrained prejudices.  Perhaps there really was a chance to beat back the taught biases, as long as children such as these were the future.

Then there was Mistress Maria, who looked very unhappy with events.  Grand Master Stephen was standing beside her, as if positioning himself to keep her from doing something they would all regret.  As much as Pepper respected the Great Wizard, her attitude was very hard to take.  The Cardinal Wizard was glad that the other Head of Order didn’t teach; instead she left that up to extraordinary people like Master Mack, who obviously cared for his Novices and was leaving out the historical errors about the Cardinals and the Voids.

Although, there were certain Voids out there determined to live down to the reputation of their order.

Thinking about the Voids again had her thinking about Master Phil, because he was walking into a circumstance he knew nothing about.  Pepper was determined to try to rescue him and Daisy, and the Hawk as well, no matter what it took.

Abruptly, she felt her magic tingling sharply under her skin, like light pinpricks along her nerve endings.  It was slightly uncomfortable, but she ignored her, her gaze going back to Ianto and Jack.

As she watched, a swirl of golden light curled up from the ground, spinning as if whipped about by the wind…which was non-existent in the garden.  Pepper could feel her magic reacting as the Deep Ways – because that was what it was – coalesced into a female figure, her body surrounded in a bright aura.

The Avatar of Gateway appeared as a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, with blonde hair and dark eyes.  She wore an old-fashioned travelling outfit, trousers and a sweater with a scarf about her neck and sturdy boots on her feet.  She smiled when she caught sight of Ianto and Jack.  “It’s so good to see you both!” she exclaimed.  “I’d give you two the biggest hug ever if I had an actual, physical form.”

“It’s good to see you too, Grandmother,” Ianto greeted her.  “It’s been far too long.”

Pepper felt her eyebrows raising in surprise. 

“Did he just call her ‘Grandmother’?” Tony murmured in her ear.

“That’s what I heard.”

“Grandmother?” Mistress Maria exclaimed, her voice disapproving.

“Well,” Ianto said, turning slightly, “the Avatar isn’t _technically_ related to me.  However, Lady Rose _is_ my many times great-grandmother.  It’s how I came about my strong connection to the Deep Ways…it’s been in my family line for generations, and I was the first one to be able to access it.”

That made so much sense.  No one had really been able to explain why Ianto was as powerful as he was, but to be descended from the woman who’d commanded the magic enough to destroy the Nameless Demons…yes, that explained so much.

But that would mean…

Master John Smith, the time traveler known as the Doctor, was Ianto’s many-times great-grandfather.

Pepper suddenly wanted to ask how Mistress Maria felt about _that_ …if she’d realized it yet.

“I call her Grandmother because she has all of Rose’s memories,” Ianto went on.  “She’s still very much her own person, however.”

“I am the Avatar of Gateway,” the woman answered.  “But I’m happy that Ianto chooses to call me Grandmother.”  She glanced around at the assembled Wizards.  “Oh, it is so good to see two of the Orders working together.  I have been watching, and have been disappointed that so much of the old knowledge has been misinterpreted.  All Orders must work together if they are to be of assistance to the world.”

Her gaze turned to Mistress Maria.  “Maria Hill, it has not escaped me that you are continuing on with the tradition of the Great Wizards condemning the Cardinal and Void Wizards in their use of the Deep Ways and the Void.  Know this: everything that has happened has meant to happen.  That includes the creation of the Deathless, and of Ianto’s uncanny connection to my Ways.” 

Mistress Maria looked pensive.  Grand Master Stephen looked ecstatic.

She turned back to Ianto.  “How can I help?”

Ianto explained about Daisy, and how they believed she’d been kidnapped by an intruder hoping to use her against her father.  He went on and told the Avatar about Phil, and the Voids, and what they were planning on attempting.

When he was done, the Avatar sighed.  “I did see the young lady being taken.  It was by a man, also young, with dark hair.  A Void Wizard, with five dragons that acted in concert with one another.”

Pepper said something very unladylike.  “Grant Ward.”

Novice Jemma gasped, while Novice Leo went pale.  She couldn’t blame them one bit.  Pepper could recall the case: how Grant Ward had cast a spell that had nearly killed both of the young Great Wizards.  He’d claimed it was an accident, but that had been disproved at the hearing, and he’d been expelled from the school.

It had taken Ianto and his uncanny curse-picking abilities to save both Novices.

“He’d been the Novice of Master John Garrett,” Novice Leo whispered.

“I’ll bet any amount of money he still is,” Grand Master Stephen said.  He would have remembered the case as well; as the students involved had been members of his own order, he’d sat in on the hearing at the time as well.

“Do we have any idea where this bastard is now?” Tony demanded.  He liked Daisy as much as Pepper did; hence his nickname, Mini Pepper, for her.  He enjoyed having her around, asking all sorts of questions, and had once told Pepper that the young woman didn’t come to visit enough.  He was just as upset about her kidnapping as the rest of them were.

“Not yet,” Natasha declared. 

“Go,” Baron Nicholas ordered.

With a twist of a plain silver bracelet on her wrist, the assassin was gone.

Pepper hadn’t even noticed the teleportation magic on the bangle.  She was obviously slipping, or else just far too distracted to pay attention.

Ianto raised a single eyebrow, but that was all the emotion he was showing, and Pepper could read it well enough to tell if he was impressed, or surprised.  Probably a combination of both.

The Cardinal Wizard wondered where it had come from, and guessed it was like the ring that Master Phil had made for the Baron, and had come from the same source.  It was a little too late to ask, and in the end it really didn’t matter.

“If the Widow can track down Ward,” Baron Nicholas said, “he could lead us to Hydra.”

“Hydra is known to me,” the Avatar said.  “It’s not a new concept.”

That had everyone’s attention.  “What do you mean, gorgeous?” Jack asked.  Of course, Jack was going to flirt with the Avatar.  That was so like him.

“There was a Hydra at work during the Century War that took place in the Western Lands.  It was one of the many enemies that Sir Steven Rogers made in his fight against the Despot and the Skull.”

“Wait,” Tony said, “how do you know this?”

The Avatar smiled serenely. “I may be the Avatar of Gateway, but the Deep Ways is universal.  That Hydra conducted many experiments with both the Deep Ways and the Void, despite the magic being locked away as it was at the time; I could do nothing about it, as I was here, and as bound to the spell that had shut magic off from the Wizards.  I heard about it through my own connectivity with the Deep Ways, though.”

Pepper was stunned.  That wasn’t something in their history, and she said so.

“That I cannot say,” the Avatar answered.  “I don’t understand how they would have remained hidden from history, and that you didn’t know of them.  However, I have seen the mortal’s ability to rationalize even the strangest things away, and this was a very long time ago.  Magic had been dead to the world at that point.”

She was right.  The Century War had taken place nearly three hundred years ago.  Pepper had learned about it from Tony, as he’d had an ancestor who’d been fairly important during the War; his father had been named after that Howard Stark, who was supposed to have been one of those responsible for the discovery of the Paladin, Sir Steven Rogers, who had become lost during one of the final battles in the war.  They’d never found his body.

“I must go,” the Avatar said, “Ianto is tiring and I don’t want to have to tap into anyone else’s personal magic.  Good luck with your hunt. I do hope you find young Daisy; she’s a true delight, and quite powerful.  She will be a credit to the Cardinal Order when she’s older.”

Pepper could tell that Ianto was flagging; if the Avatar had taken that much power from him in the short time she’d been manifested, the Cardinal Head of Order knew she would have lasted only a few minutes. 

“Take care, Grandmother,” Ianto murmured.  “We’ll speak again soon.”

The Avatar gave him a sunny smile.  “I look forward to it.” 

With those final words, she faded away, back into the golden swirl of energy that had heralded her arrival, leaving them alone with their thoughts once more.

To consider the revelation as well, that Hydra wasn’t as new as they’d thought.

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

 

Maria didn’t like this.  Not one whit.

Alright, Grand Master Stephen had given her food for thought regarding her preconceived notions of the Cardinals and the Voids.  She still had Master John’s book, tucked under her arm, and she really wanted a chance to sit down and read it.  But this summoning a being that shouldn’t exist…no, Maria just wasn’t onboard with that.

Still, that didn’t stop them from doing it anyway.

And then the Avatar had called her out in front of everyone.  That _rankled_.

They’d gotten some important information, however.  But Maria was glad when the Avatar vanished back to where she’d come from, because having her there was just…well, _wrong_.

Captain Harkness had his arm around Grand Master Ianto, supporting him.  Calling up the Avatar had taken a lot of power, and there was a part of her that was glad that the immortal Cardinal Wizard wasn’t as all powerful as rumors claimed.   Or maybe he was, because the Avatar had been able to manifest with his help, and he’d made it plain that Mistress Pepper’s own magic wouldn’t be enough.

“Let’s get you inside,” the Deathless murmured to his husband. 

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Mistress Pepper asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine,” Grand Master Ianto assured her.  “I just need to sit and get some food in me.  The Deep Ways won’t let me be down for long.”

Maria didn’t care much for that notion, either.

With that, everyone began to troop back inside.  The two Novices were bombarding Grand Master Stephen with questions about the Avatar, their teaching Master looking on fondly; the Grand Master seemed quite happy to answer them, encouraging them to ask all the questions they wanted.

This was why Maria hadn’t taken on any Novices. She didn’t have the patience for it, if she was irritated already and they weren’t even the ones bothering her personally.

“You alright?” Nick asked her, as she stood there watching everyone go into the house.

Maria sighed.  “Ask me again when I’ve had time to process it all.”

“Fair enough.”  He put both hands on her shoulders, meeting her gaze with his single eye.  “I’m only gonna say this once, and then we’ll be done on the subject unless _you_ wanna talk about it.”

That sounded ominous, and she didn’t hesitate to say so.

Nick barked a laugh.  “Don’t be so melodramatic.”

“That’s like the pot calling the kettle black.”

The man shook his head, huffing a small laugh.  “Yeah, but I’m the one supposed to be the overly dramatic one, not you.  I rely on you being the pragmatic one.”

“Look, you don’t need to say anything,” she told him, pretty sure she knew what it was already. 

“Yeah, I think you do.  Maria, I think it’s time you abandoned your wrong ass assumptions and accepted that there are things you don’t have a fucking clue about…and that includes Phil.  You’ve had no problem accepting my past, and I was just as bad as Phil was, but the major difference being is that I’m not a Wizard and he is.  You don’t even know him, and you’re already trying to come up with ways to bring up the fact that he was the Dark One without outing me as well.  And don’t bother denying it.  I think I know you pretty damned well by now.”

He did.  He knew her too well.  “He’s a Wizard, which you’ve said.  You aren’t.  You can’t be held accountable by the Wizard Guild laws.”

“That man has been through shit you don’t even know about.  You need to cut him some slack and let him live his life in peace.”

“I can’t, Nick!’ Maria exclaimed.  “He’s a Void, and he’s broken every law on the books!”

“And he’s paid for that with his life.”

Maria frowned.  “I know he’s your friend, Nick, but that’s as melodramatic as anything you’ve accused me of!”

But, there was something in his face, something that had the Great Wizard not so sure she was right. 

“I meant that in precisely the way I said it…” His serious expression changed, as if an important thought had just occurred to him. 

Then Nick began cursing.  It wasn’t the usual every other word variety; it was long and ranting and Nick sounded very angry with himself.

Without ceasing, he was spinning on his heel and storming into the house.  Maria had no choice but to follow, catching up when he’d re-entered the dining room, where everyone had collected once more.

“I think I know what they want Phil for,” he announced to the gathering.

Grand Master Ianto, his face pale, stared up at him from the chair he was seated in, the Baroness Eirlys putting a plate of cheese and meat down in front of him, as well as a cup of what looked like tea.  “What do you know, Your Grace?”

Everyone’s attention was on Nick, and he wasn’t eating it up like he normally did when every eye was on him. 

“I’m about to reveal something I learned in confidence,” he began, pacing as much as he could in the confined space of the dining room. 

Maria watched everyone’s reactions to that.  Mistress Pepper was obviously upset, but then she was aware of who this Master Phil was…as did Grand Master Stephen, because Maria had been the one to inform him.  Grand Master Ianto didn’t seem surprised, and Maria was willing to bet that he’d known as well, most likely from Mistress Pepper.  The others were a combination of confused and curious, waiting politely for Nick to explain.

“Damnit, Phil,” he muttered under his breath, but just loud enough for everyone to hear, “you’re making me do this…”

“Baron Nicholas – “ Mistress Pepper gasped.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna do this either,” he sighed, still pacing, as if he wanted to burn off his emotions over giving away a friend’s secrets.  “Once was enough.  Now I have to spill the story all over again.”

Then, he stopped, turning back to face his audience.  “I’ve known Phil Coulson since he was a student at the Wizard School, and my Mom taught Maths there.  We became friends, and even back then I knew he was an angry son of a bitch who was destined to burn the whole damned world down.  It didn’t hurt that I was more than pissed off at all and sundry back then as well, but for different reasons.  Mainly jealousy, but that’s neither here nor there, and I’m way over it now.”

Maria didn’t like what Nick was doing.  He was about to admit to his criminal past, after all the good he’d done for his Barony and his people.  He was going to wreck his entire life, for one man…a man she believed had been the worse of the two mercenaries, because he was a Void Wizard.  Phil Coulson wasn’t worth what Nick was about to do, but she knew she couldn’t stop him.

“Phil had bought into the belief that, because he was a Void Wizard, he was just naturally evil.  Thank his parents for that shit, and it didn’t matter what his teaching Master tried to teach him.  I’m afraid I didn’t help with it either, because I was convinced we could do whatever the hells we wanted and damn the consequences.  So, when Phil left school, I left with him.”

“I’m sorry,” Baroness Eirlys interrupted, “but I’m not sure what this has to do with what Hydra wants with Master Phil.”

“I’m getting to it.  You need a little background before I do, I’m afraid.”

“Please, continue, Your Grace,” Grand Master Ianto urged.

Nick gave him a little bow.  “Phil had decided that, if he was evil, then he might as well act on it.  I thought it was a pretty good idea myself.  So, we went on a crusade to do as much damage as possible…as Marcus Johnson and the Dark One.”

Captain Harkness was nodding. “I suspected it.”

Nick snorted.  “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me, Harkness.”

“Are you saying that Daisy’s Dad is the _Dark One_?” Novice Jemma squeaked. 

“But he’s so _nice_!” Novice Leo gasped.

“But I thought the Dark One had been killed by the mad Asgardian, Loki,” Baron Tony said, his eyes narrowed at his wife, as if he wanted to read her mind.  “And you knew about this, Pep?”

“Yes, I knew,” Mistress Pepper waved a hand, as if it didn’t matter that she hadn’t admitted the awful truth to her own husband.  “When I decided to take Daisy on as a Novice, he came to me and explained.  He didn’t want to ruin her chances at a good education, and wanted to make sure that his past, if discovered, wouldn’t affect her.  I agreed to keep it secret from everyone but Grand Master Ianto.”

“And I agreed with Pepper about keeping it confidential,” Grand Master Ianto asserted.  “Master Phil’s past was his own.  And, he’d reformed.  I didn’t see any danger that he could cause that would preclude his daughter from getting a quality education, especially as powerful a Cardinal as she is.”

“I knew there was something about you.”  Baron Tony waved a finger in Nick’s direction.  “However, you’ve done a lot of good for Triskelia.  That place was a wretched hive of scum and villainy before you took over, and you’ve really cleaned the Barony up.”  He then smirked.  “You know, the other Barons are jealous of you?  Not me, of course, because I’m an awesome Baron and always try to do right by my people, but the others are absolutely green with it.  It’s hilarious.”

Maria knew then that the Baron Ferrous would stay quiet about Nick’s past.  Maria let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.  Of them all, Tony Stark would have been the one to watch out for; him being on the Council of Barons and with the ear of the others had been worrying her.  He could have easily gone to the Barons and reported Nick to them, but it looked as if he wasn’t going to do any such thing.

“Thank you, Stark,” Nick said, possibly the most sincere Maria had ever heard him sound.

Baron Tony waved his entire hand this time, not bothering to say a thing back.  There really wasn’t a need.

“But back to what Stark said…about Phil being killed by Loki.”  Nick took a deep breath.  “He was.”

Every single person in the room was silent, stunned by what he’d just admitted.

“How is that possible?” Mistress Pepper demanded, finally breaking the silence.  “You  must be mistaken.”

“I wish I was.”  Nick rubbed a hand over his face, looking more despairing than Maria had ever seen him. “I was there.  I was the one who made sure his body was collected and taken to the morgue that had been set up after the battle.  So, you can imagine my surprise when he showed up on my doorstep, a little kid in his arms, asking me for sanctuary…”

“But, that would mean…”  Captain Harkness’ voice faded away, as it really wasn’t needed to be said.

Because Maria had already leapt to the conclusion that Nick must have done, years ago.

Phil Coulson was Deathless.

“No,” Grand Master Ianto said, his eyes squarely on Nick, “You don’t think he’s Deathless.  You think he’s like me.”

“Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Nick questioned.  “We have you, who’s so connected to the Deep Ways that it won’t let you die.  Who’s to say the Void wouldn’t wanna do the same thing?  Phil’s a really powerful Void Wizard.  I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I saw him once dance on a Void Point and like it.  The Hawk and the Widow saw it, too, so they’ll back me up.”

“But he doesn’t know, does he?” the Cardinal Grand Master stated.

“No, he doesn’t have a fucking clue.”

“How is that possible?” Maria wanted to know.  “I mean, he has to know he died, right?”

“I…don’t think the Void wants him to remember.”

“But, that’s – “

“If you say impossible, Maria, I’m gonna have to kick you out of bed.”

Maria couldn’t help the faint blush, at the airing out of her affair with Nick.  Although, judging from the looks they were getting, it wasn’t a shock to a majority of the people in this meeting.

“What evidence do you have that Master Phil doesn’t know?” Captain Harkness asked.

Nick shrugged.  “Whenever he tries to talk about it, his eyes go all black and he forgets the reason for the conversation.  It’s like the Void takes him over and won’t let him.  And, believe me, I’ve tried, because I can see how it tears him up inside, to think whatever the hells he does when he _does_ dwell on it.”

“I do suppose that makes sense,” Grand Master Stephen mused. “We have Ianto, with his unique connection to the Deep Ways.  There needs to be a balance to these sorts of things.”

Maria remembered the Hawk’s words, back at the castle in Triskelia, and how he’d wanted to know if it was a bad thing to have an equal to Ianto Jones.  At the time, it had been in context to Hydra’s plans.  But, now, it was a reality, and Hydra had nothing to do with it.

“And you think Hydra knows about it.”  Captain Harkness didn’t frame it as a question.  Instead, he took his place at the Grand Master Ianto’s side, resting a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’d have to think so.  And I have to think they’re gonna do everything in their power to work it out…from a man who doesn’t even remember it happening.”

“It’ll be torture, then,” Baron Tony said, appalled, his hand rubbing a circle on his chest.  Maria was aware of his past; of how he’d been kidnapped by a band of terrorists, all because they’d wanted him to create a technological weapon for them, one that could fool even the most powerful magical wards.  His capture had led to damage to his heart, and an enchanted stone now kept his heart beating.  He’d managed to escape, only to discover that a family friend, Obadiah Stane, had been the one responsible because Baron Tony had refused to do the same thing for Stane himself.  It hadn’t helped that Stane had been running the Barony for years and wanted to keep himself in power. 

If anyone would know about torture, it would be him.

The problem was, Maria wasn’t sure how to think about it, no matter how much it bothered others.  No, she didn’t want anyone to suffer, but the man was the Dark One…

But, he was also Nick’s friend.  Maria still wasn’t sure how she felt about that, not really.  She hadn’t had enough time to process it. 

“I tried to protect him,” Nick sighed.  “I gave him Shield Keep, knowing it would be a good, isolated place to raise Daisy.  I sent him an old friend to keep watch on him.  I helped him cover up the fact that the Dark One hadn’t been butchered.  And I’d hoped he’d never be discovered.”

“He was, though,” Grand Master Stephen pointed out, not unkindly.

“Yeah, well…I suppose it was only a matter of time.”  Nick suddenly looked so very tired, and distressed.  “But I was really hoping…and when Hydra came to him, I guess I just turned a blind eye on the reason they were approaching him, not even considering the notion that they might have discovered the truth in some way.  It wasn’t until just now that I really put two and two together.”  He sounded disgusted with himself.

Grand Master Ianto rose to his feet, swaying slightly; Captain Harkness put his hand under his elbow to steady him.  He walked right up to Nick; they were almost of a height, the Grand Master having to tip his head back a little, meeting Nick’s single eye.  “We are going to do our best to save him.  From the little you’ve said, and from what we _do_ know, he’s a strong man.  Hopefully we’ll be able to get to him quickly.  And, if not, we’ll help him in any way we can to recover.”

Captain Harkness nodded.  “I know what it’s like to be put through that sort of thing.  Sometimes people would find out I was Deathless, and they’d do their best to test that.  One Wizard even thought he’d come up with a way to end me for good, although I wasn’t about to let him experiment with me to find out if it was true.  And don’t get me started about the time Harold Saxon set his personal cannibals on me…”

That sounded…Maria wanted to be sick at the very thought of someone who couldn’t die becoming an everlasting food source for a bunch of cannibals.  And it had been at Harold Saxon’s behest, as well, which didn’t surprise her in the least.  The stories about Saxon were even worse than the ones about the Dark One, if that was possible.  Cannibals shouldn’t be as much of a shock as they were.

“We’ll also be able to help him deal with the fact that the Void will keep him alive,” the Grand Master added.  “While I’m the opposite in power, it will be much the same for him; to live past those his loves.  It’s a cruel fate for anyone who doesn’t have someone to live that fate beside.”

Maria was surprised by that sentiment.  She’d have thought that all that power would have been corrupting, and that to live an extremely long life was a blessing.  But, from what these two were saying, it was anything but.  She’d never really given it any consideration, if she was honest, content to believe that they were happy with their extended lives.  That the very power of the Deep Ways and the Deathless had been something they’d wanted.

Certainly, she knew the stories, of how Jack Harkness had been resurrected by Lady Rose Tyler.  He hadn’t asked for it, but he’d lived with it for well over a thousand years.  And, from what she’d heard in the garden, Ianto Jones was a direct descendent of the woman who’d done that very thing, used the lifeforce of the Demons to bring Harkness back to life.  It had to have been exposure to so much power that had tainted Grand Master Ianto, and now he was living nearly the same extended life as his husband.

Would Eirlys have a normal lifespan?  Already, she looked more like their mother than their daughter.  They’d lose her someday.

Just as Master Phil would, someday, lose his own daughter.

For the very first time, Maria Hill felt badly for them…for all three, if Nick was correct about his friend.

It was yet another thing she would have to reconsider.

This day was certainly giving her a lot to think about.

“The question is,” Grand Master Stephen said, “just how are we going to locate Hydra?”

That was the question indeed.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

 

Daisy was regretting her crying jag, as it just made her head hurt worse.

She had no idea how long she’d been weeping, curled up with Skye on the bed, scared and hurting and terrified for her Dad.  There was no telling what they were having him do, because he’d do anything to keep her safe.  With the surrounding Void stifling her connection with the Deep Ways, there was no way she could escape, to get past the man who was guarding her door.  She could put Melinda’s lessons to good use, but there was something about the man called the Winter Knight that had her doubting she’d get very far.

Besides, she had no idea where her Dad even _was_.  Nor how many people there were in this place.

Daisy’s stomach was growling.  It had to have been hours since she last ate, but she wasn’t going to let her hunger get the better of her.  After all, she’d been starving before, and while it had been eleven years since that time, she could still recall it vividly.  Dad had helped her through that period, taught her that there was plenty to eat now, and that she didn’t need to horde food away in case there wasn’t any forthcoming.  That had taken years for him to accomplish, and he’d had the utmost patience for the job. It had made her love him even more.

Still, she could remember it.  And she could deal with it.

Daisy did have water, though.  Someone had provided a pitcher that was sitting on the table by the bed, but she hadn’t had any yet.  There was a small voice in the back of her head wondering if it was drugged or poisoned with something that would keep her quiet.  There would come a point when she’d have to risk it, but for now she was fine.

It was getting dark outside.  Through the window Daisy could see the ocean, and the house appeared to be too far up high on a promontory for her to use that window to escape.  She did know it had been full daylight when she’d been pushed into the room, but not the exact time of day, so she had no idea just how long she’d been left on her own.  It was worrying, but not for herself; for her Dad, because she had no idea what they were doing to him.

She laid back, closing her eyes against the pain in her head…and her heart.  The young Wizard felt useless, and the notion of her being used as a hostage against her father grated.  She wanted to escape, to free herself, but at the moment she couldn’t come up with a way to do it.

Daisy was dozing off when she heard the door open.  Sitting up quickly caused her head to throb even worse and her stomach to churn, but she disregarded it as she watched the Winter Knight practically toss someone else into the room and slam the door closed once more.  The man stumbled, and he turned back to the door, shouting multiple curse words at the top of his lungs.

Daisy recognized him at once.

“Clint?” she said, her voice wobbling a lot.

He spun around, his eyes widening and then softening in relief.  “Daisy!” he exclaimed.  “Are you hurt?”

“I have the worst headache ever and I feel like I want to lose my lunch…not that I’ve actually had any lunch, but otherwise…”

She got a good look at him.  He looked terrible, his eyes bloodshot and glassy as if he, himself, had been crying. There was a blossoming bruise on his jaw, and the leather armor she’d seem him wearing back at the Keep had been stripped away, leaving him in a deep purple undershirt and black trousers.  His feet were bare as well, and she couldn’t work out why they’d take his boots.  That just seemed a little extreme to her.

But that thought went out of her head once she’d really gotten a good look at him.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded, her heart sinking at his paleness and the evidence of some sort of emotional distress in his eyes.  “Where’s Dad?”

She couldn’t help but notice the flinch he gave at that second question.

Daisy clambered off the bed, stumbling up to him.  “Clint…where’s Dad?”  Her heart was thundering in panic.  Something was very, very wrong, and Clint wouldn’t look at her. 

“Daisy, I…”  He swallowed, like there was something blocking his throat.  The pain and sadness in his eyes…she just knew what he was going to say,

“He’s…” she couldn’t say it, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, not wanting the words to escape.  If she said them, it would be real, and she didn’t want it to be real.

Clint put his hands on her shoulders, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.  “I’m so sorry.  I tried to have his back, but…”

Daisy didn’t hear him.  She was wailing her sorrow out, and suddenly she was in the Elf’s arms, his own shaking a compliment to hers.  She could feel his tears on her hair, and knew he was just as upset as she was.  They were both mourning, her for the only father she’d known, and him for a friend – or more – that he’d now lost twice.  It wasn’t fair to either of them.

Somehow, they ended up on the floor, Skye huddled over them, sheltering them with her wings as if to keep their pain private.  Daisy knew she was mourning as well, the dragon’s own anguished cries joining with her own.  Clint was silent, but no less upset for all that, and she didn’t even need the same link with him that she had with her dragon to feel it.

It was  full dark outside when she finally was able to control her tears, several glowglobes on the walls fading into light the darker it got within the room.  She pulled back a little, not wanting to get out of the hug she so desperately needed, but craving to know what had happened to her Dad. 

She wanted to know who she needed to kill.

“How did it happen?” she whispered, her voice hoarse from her weeping.

Clint looked devastated, and once again she had to wonder just how much he loved her Dad, and for how long.  “We…arrived on schedule…”

He went on to explain about the meeting, and what Pierce had intimated: that Dad was actually like the Deathless.  Dad had denied it to the Void Wizards, of course, but Daisy had often wondered just how he’d survived Loki.  When he’d found her, he’d been wearing a shirt covered in dried blood, holes in both the front and the back.  From what she’d seen, no one could have survived that, but she’d wanted to believe he’d gotten the clothes from some corpse or other. To now know the damage must have been caused by the mortal wound that Loki had given him…

“They were wrong, though,” Clint went on.  He told her of the fight, and of the Novice called Raina who’d had some sort of power of suggestion, because she’d easily talked Dad into ceasing fighting.  Clint had been in close combat with the man who, from his description, had been the Winter Knight – and wasn’t Daisy mad at herself for not keeping track of him, she might have attempted to escape while he’d been gone.  If all of this had occurred before she’d been caught and thrown into the room.

“I called out to him, and I thought he was going to break free…but then, Pierce got up behind him – “

“Pierce?  Grand Master Pierce?”

Clint nodded.  “They’re all high-ranking Voids.”

She knew then that the man who’d caught her and left her with the Winter Knight had been Alexander Pierce.  It had to have been him, there was no other option.  The Grand Master of the Voids…after the power of the Deathless.  It just seemed so very inconceivable.

“Pierce had this…thing. This chain. He put it around Phil’s neck, and…Gods, it killed him.  He went to his knees, and then just…died.”  Clint choked up.  “Pierce was shocked.  It was obvious he wasn’t expecting it.”

Daisy’s heart thudded painfully, wondering just what could kill someone like that, and so quickly.  A curse, maybe?  But why would they do that, if they’d wanted something from her Dad, and needed him alive?  That didn’t make sense.

Then it hit her.  “Was this chain thing a very bright silver metal?  Like, unnaturally bright?”

“Yeah, it was.”  He was staring at her.  “You know what it was?”

Daisy closed her eyes.  She knew immediately what it was; she’d seen a small sample of it at school, and it was far worse than any curse that could have been cast.  “It’s called Vibranium.  It’s…I guess you’d say it’s anti-magic.  When he put it on Dad, it…cut his connection to the Void.”

The Elf was puzzled.  “But why would that…” Even Clint couldn’t say it, which shouldn’t have made Daisy feel better, but it did.

“Both Cardinals and Voids,” she struggled to explain, “we’re connected directly to either the Deep Ways or the Void.  It’s literally a part of us.  You take that away…” The young Wizard shook her head.  “Right now, my connection is seriously muffled, and if I don’t get out of here soon it will eventually kill me, too.”

She had to wonder if that would be so bad.  Maybe she’d even meet her Dad again in one of the Heavens…

But, no.  He wouldn’t want her to give up.  She needed to make him proud of her, even if he wasn’t around to see it anymore.

“I’m not surprised that it’s affecting you.  Phil…your Dad says this place is built on top of a Void Point.  Your powers are being smothered by all that power.”

That made sense.  While Daisy had always been comfortable around Dad, and he was…had been…a very powerful Void Wizard, it had never bothered her, because it was a part of him and he had excellent control.  But this…this was different.  Very different. 

“Dad’s connection to the Void was completely severed.  That’s why Vibranium is really dangerous.  It…” she still couldn’t say it.

But, Clint understood.  He hugged her to him once more, and Daisy let him, needing the closeness as much as the Elf obviously did.  They might have just met that morning, but the young woman felt as if he’d known him all of her life…despite having never heard his name before he’d been introduced earlier in the day.  Her Dad had trusted him, and so would she.  She thought he might have done a little bit more than trusting.

“But, if Dad…” she had to say it, now, and it made it all real, “died, then he’s not this other Deathless.  Or else he would have come back…even with his connection to the Void severed.  At least, does it work that way?”  She wasn’t sure, to be honest.

“No,” he murmured into her hair.  “From what the bastards talked about, he shouldn’t have even died because of that chain…the Vibranium, because if he was Deathless he would have been filled with the Void, instead of being connected to it.  The chain was only meant to incapacitate his magic long enough for them to capture him.  We waited for hours for some sort of sign, but there was nothing.  Pierce and the others were…well, disappointed isn’t a strong enough word.  They were yelling at Pierce for having done it, actually.  It was a pretty impressive argument.”

Daisy laughed, but it was a horrible, strangled sound.  “Serves them right, only I had to lose my Dad to prove he wasn’t what they thought.”  This heartache wasn’t going to go away anytime soon, and they had things to do.  Like bring down Hydra…for her Dad.  Daisy really, really wanted revenge.  “Do you have some way to get us out of here?”

“I have a ring that will teleport us back to either Triskelia or Shield Keep, whichever one’s closest.  They searched me, but I’d hidden the ring just in case.  Also, it really wasn’t my style, and I didn’t feel like wearing it in the open.  They did take the Explosive spell ring I was wearing, though, and all the enchanted arrows Phil made up for me.”

“So we can get out of here?”  Daisy wanted nothing more than to get them all for taking her father away from her, but they needed to get reinforcements first.  They’d managed to murder her Dad, after all, which meant they were strong, stronger now because of the Void Point.  She and Clint didn’t stand a chance against them,  no matter that she wanted to kill them all with her bare hands.

She wondered if this was how Dad had felt, when he’d been the Dark One.  The young Wizard could certainly understand if it was, the need to burn them all down because they’d stolen something very precious from her.  In her Dad’s case, it had been his innocence and good nature.  For Daisy…well, there was only one thing she wanted to strike out at them for.

“Yep.”  Clint pulled away, and the young Wizard missed  his hugs immediately.  He reached into his tunic, pulling out a ring that Daisy recognized immediately as the one Dad had given Uncle Nick.  She’d also seen it on Clint’s finger back at the Keep. 

She then had an idea.  “Let me see that?”

She was very familiar with the spell on the ring: it was a Teleport spell, but a very basic one, that would only work between Uncle Nick’s castle and Shield Keep.  It could also be used from anywhere else, but it would only take someone back to either place, and nowhere else, whichever was the closest to where they were at that particular moment.

The last thing Daisy wanted to do was leave her Dad’s body behind.  Chances were, they’d do something to him, since  he’d ended up not that useful to them after all.  There was no way in any hells was she going to let that happen.

Daisy could sense her Dad’s magical signature within the ring’s spell.  It was as obvious to her as her own was.  She’d lived with him, watched him perform his spells, and he’d even taught her some that could be adapted to both Cardinal and Void types of magic.  His help with her wards had been amazing, and he was patient to boot.

Teleport spells were universal; any Wizard could cast one, if they were advanced enough in their skills.  Daisy was still a Novice, but she’d watched her Dad, and could feel around the magic he’d used to make this an artifact anyone could use.  Hopefully, she could work with it…

“What are you doing?” Clint murmured.

“We can’t just leave Dad here, not with these animals,” she answered, half of her aching mind on the spell, poking around it to see if she could change the coordinates.  “Dad made this for Uncle Nick, so it was only meant to be used between the Keep and Triskelia.  I’m hoping I can also use Dad’s magical signature to locate him and get him out of here when we leave.”

“Will that work?”

“Well, we’ll need to get that Vibranium off him before we leave, or it’ll affect the Teleport spell as well, but I’m hoping this is going to be simple enough for me to mess with.”  She tried to sound confident, and it really more to boost her own ego than to reassure Clint.

“Good, because you’re right.  There’s no way we’re leaving Phil in their hands.”

Daisy was glad they agreed.  But then, she hadn’t really doubted it.

The main problem was, the Void energy surrounding them was really suppressing her magic.  She’d never had this problem around Dad, and the pain was distracting her a little.  Daisy took a deep breath, and tried to block it out, the way Dad had shown her, knowing that the Void, in extremely large doses, was likely going to affect her no matter how powerful she got.  It really helped that she had some experience with Teleport spells, even though she’d never cast one before, and this one was really simple.

At least the spell wasn’t using the Void to power itself.  Dad had used a basic spell that any Wizard might have cast, with no taint of Void in it; he’d done it that way so no one would notice Uncle Nick obviously wearing a Void artifact on his finger, which would have drawn more attention than any of them really needed.  That made it a little easier to manipulate, but as Daisy wasn’t quite advanced enough…

It was sheer stubbornness that kept her at it.  She could feel Clint and Skye beside her, her dragon supporting her through their link and with her physical proximity.  The spell was beautiful in its simplicity, lines and whorls and angles in her magical sight, and once again she hoped that, one day, she could be as elegant at casting such magicks as her Dad was. 

Had been.

Damn, that was something she would never get used to referring to him in the past tense.  She didn’t want him to be dead, but she didn’t doubt Clint.  He’d seen it, and would have had no reason to lie.  Besides, she doubted he was that good of an actor.  His mourning was very real.

Dad had once told her that casting and manipulating magic wasn’t just the mental.  There were sometimes physical components involved, and those had to be taken into consideration as well.  It was like when he used lavender in his Sleep potions; it made them that much stronger than just waving a wand over the cauldron and hoping for the best.  It was also like the old stories about the Wizard who’d used his own name to solidify a spell, it was the base on which the magic could settle around, to remain anchored to.

Teleport spells were like that, which was why they were often cast upon specific objects.  They could also be manipulated physically, to get them to reset their coordinates.  So, she used a fingernail to move some of the lines of magic around, knowing that Clint wouldn’t be able to see what she could but she thought he would understand the tiny movements she was making over the ring in the palm of her hand.  Usually, Dad would have used small tools for this sort of thing, and Daisy found herself wishing for the miniature probes he had in his casting chamber.  Her own nail would have to do, and she carefully caught up one of the spell lines, a bright blue in her magical sight.  The spell jangled alarmingly, disturbed by her manipulation, but then settled into a new configuration.  She couldn’t help but smile.

Her back was hurting from hunching over, so Daisy stretched a moment.  “So,” she said, taking this opportunity, “you love my Dad, don’t you?” She didn’t wince when she used the present tense.  She’d probably be doing that a lot, until it sank in that he was gone forever.

Clint sighed.  “I…could have.  I mean, back when we were running together I was seriously attracted, but…he’s changed.  I was still very attracted, but I really wanted to get to know this new Phil better before I answer that question.  I…planned to, you know?  After this was over, I’d planned…well, I suppose that’s not going to happen now.”

Unexpectedly, in that moment Daisy didn’t want to lose him in her life.  She wanted him to hang around, to get to know him, and maybe they could be a bit of a family after they got more familiar with one another.  He could tell her stories about Dad before she’d come along, and the young Wizard could let him know about how Dad had changed. 

“Please don’t leave,” she found herself saying, blushing at how needy she sounded.  “When we get out of this…please, don’t leave me.”

“Not gonna happen,” he reassured her.  “You’re stuck with me now, kid.”

She huffed.  “Not a kid.”

“Yeah, you are.  Now, get back on that ring, so we can get the hells out of here.”

“Got it.”

And so, she did, picking around the essentials of the spell, seeing the components and twisting then slightly.  This could go so horribly wrong, and they could be trapped in that house, but she had to try.  She needed to get her Dad back, and then get them all to safety.  It wouldn’t matter where; home, or Triskelia.  She was hoping for home but at this point either one was fine.

There was another twang against her magical senses, and then the spell sang to her.  Taking a deep breath, Daisy then did the one thing that would get them to her Dad.

She reached out and grabbed at the Void that penetrated everything.

Daisy was a Cardinal Wizard.  She couldn’t do anything with the Void.  It was beyond her.  There had been stories that Grand Master Ianto had once used a Void Point during a battle ages ago, but he’d had the help of an actual Void Wizard and hadn’t had to do much with it himself.  What Daisy was trying to do was attune the ring to her Dad, even though his connection to the Void had been cut off completely.  She was hoping there would still be that synchronicity, that resonance, with the Void even though he was…wasn’t alive anymore. 

She wasn’t going to accept failure.

Oh Gods, her head was aching so badly.  The Void was slippery in her mental fingers, like cold oil but not overly uncomfortable if she was honest.  She chalked that up to being close to her Dad, and watching his casual use of his own magic, and her being used to having it near.  That was helping, in a way, but it was also hurting her, because her own magic was so very different.  She wanted to scream at the Void, demand that it let her do this for her Dad, to get him back after everything he’d been through in his life and terrified that the Hydra Wizards would…no, she wasn’t even going to consider that.

She raged at it in her head, accusing it of failing her father. 

Then to her surprise and gratitude, the Void decided to cooperate. A small tendril wisped its way into the coordinates of the spell, twining about the whorls that indicated where she wanted to go.  The whorls began to spin, faster and faster, and Daisy pulled out of her manipulation just in time to grab Clint’s hand with her free one.  Skye had already climbed onto her shoulders, the better to watch and to keep close, so when the spell activated everyone went with her…

To what looked like some sort of laboratory.

Luckily for them, there wasn’t anyone around.  They’d arrived sitting on the cold, stone floor, and Daisy slowly climbed to her feet, not wanting to dislodge Skye but also needing to be careful of the near migraine she’d gotten out of her effort.  If she jostled her head a little too much, she felt as if it was going to fall off.

Clint helped her rise, encouraging Skye to climb onto his shoulders in order to give her a little break.  The dragon went willingly, but Daisy wasn’t bothered.  After all, it was an Elf thing, and Clint was a nice guy, not because Skye was abandoning her.  Besides, her dragon knew just how much pain Daisy was in, and would want to make it easier for her. 

The lab was…wrong.  It wasn’t like the ones at the school; Daisy couldn’t say what was different, except there was a miasma in the air that just told of so much evil having been done within, as if the ghosts of Hydra’s victims were still screaming.  The Void was also tainted here, and even to Daisy it felt sick, as if it was suffering as well.

She gagged a little.

“You okay?” Clint asked worriedly.

“This isn’t right.  I might be a Cardinal, but even I can tell the Void has been damaged in here.”

“This is probably where they’ve been doing all their experiments.  They didn’t tell us what sorts, but you can just bet they were nasty.”

Daisy thought that was a very smart bet, because she was positive he was right.  It made her even more determined to find Dad and leave.

There was a glassed-off room next to the laboratory, and within Daisy could make out a black shrouded figure on a table, and her heart constricted painfully, knowing that was her Dad. 

Without even realizing she was moving, the young Wizard was out of the laboratory and into that plain room.  She didn’t even really notice her surroundings, her attention focused on that still, covered figure.  Her hand trembling, she reached out to pull that shroud aside, needing to see her Dad, to see that Clint had told the truth about him being gone.  Not that she doubted him, but she really needed to see it with her own eyes.

“Daisy,” Clint murmured.

“No, I need to…”

“Okay.”  His hand rested on her shoulder.  “But I’ll take that Vibranium thing off.  You don’t need to do that.  Leave it to me and I’ll take care of it.”

She had no problem with that.  She doubted she could even touch it if she wanted to.

The shroud was cold and silky smooth in her fingers.  Daisy pulled it aside, revealing her Dad’s face.

She sobbed once, the rest of that horrible sound lodging firmly in her throat, choking her and keeping her silent.  Dad actually appeared peaceful, although there was a speck of blood under his nose, where he must have bled when he was suddenly cut off from the Void.  His face was almost white, his eyes cracked open just a little so she could see just a sliver of blue, and she couldn’t delude herself into thinking he was simply sleeping. 

Lola’s head lay next to his.  She’d been snugged up against him, her scales so pale they were almost pink and gray.  Daisy had seen her lay like that before, on quiet nights when he would be reading on the couch in his study, the fire going in the fireplace, Daisy working on her lessons as they simply spent time together.

She tugged the shroud down a little farther, revealing the bright metal of a chain around his neck.  Daisy couldn’t look at it; while it might have appeared smooth and clean, in her magical sight there was a terrible nothingness there, a null space that was just so horribly wrong she wanted nothing more than to rip it from him and throw it in the ocean.

Still, she had enough sense left under the absolute rage that they’d done that to him to let Clint be the one to handle the Vibranium.  He passed Skye back to her then, taking a deep breath, unfastened the chain and tossed it aside, the metal making an almost musical tinkle as it collided with the wall and then hit the floor.

“Gods, Phil,” he murmured brokenly.  “I would have given the world to have had a second chance with you.”

Daisy did the only thing she could: she reached over and took his hand, needing that simple contact for a moment before they got out of there.  Clint’s palm was warm, with some interesting callouses that had to have come from his bow and his sword.

“Let’s get him out of here,” she whispered.  It wasn’t right that he was there, in that place, and so helpless.  She wasn’t used to her Dad being helpless and so unnaturally still.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be taking him anywhere.”

They both jerked at the voice.  Clint stepped in front of Daisy, protecting her, and she glanced around the taller man to see who it was standing there.  It was a man, with spectacles, his arm in a sling, face pale and drawn in pain.  A jet black dragon was at his side, and it hissed at them.  Skye hissed back.

“This is Daniel Whitehall,” Clint introduced sarcastically.  “He looked really good with an arrow in his shoulder.”

“You should have aimed for his heart,” Daisy said spitefully.

“I don’t really think he has one.”

The young Wizard barked a laugh at that.  No doubt Clint was correct.

“You can imagine our surprise when we discovered you weren’t in your room anymore,” Whitehall said.  He seemed to be perfectly calm, but there was something in his pale eyes that had Daisy shivering in response.  “I’d certainly like to know how you both got past the Winter Knight.  He’s not usually that careless with our guests.”

Clint started, surprised.  “What did you call him?”

A smirk erased a few of the pain lines from the man’s face.  “The Winter Knight.  I take it, you’ve heard of him?”

“He’s a legend,” the Elf said flatly.  “A ghost.”

“No, he isn’t. And he’s under our control.  He’s been quite useful, although he’s more Pierce’s pet than anyone else’s.”

Daisy wished she knew what Clint had heard about that guy, because he was downright scary.  She didn’t ever want to meet the Winter Knight again, not without the full use of her powers, and maybe not even then.

“Look,” she spoke up, “I just want to take my Dad home.  You’ve already killed him…I just want to go home with him.”  She couldn’t help the tears, despite the surprise that she had any tears left to cry.  Her anger was raging within her, but the sorrow was smothering all that rage, like sand upon an open fire.

She needed time to mess with the ring once more, to get it back aligned with its original coordinates.  The Hydra bastard wasn’t giving her that. 

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Whitehall said, his smile turning into something horrific.  “We might have been wrong about him being a form of Deathless, but there’s still so many things we can learn from his corpse.  We have plans yet, for him and for the pair of you, and none of you will be leaving.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Daisy felt as if she was going to faint, and her nails dug into the back of Clint’s hand.  She could tell he was just as dumfounded as she was from the audible gasp he let out.

That was her Dad speaking.

But he was _dead_.

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

 

The Void was darkness.

The Void was timeless.

The Void was peace.

When people who didn’t know just what the Void was heard about it, they automatically thought of being lost, and cold, and in what appeared to be endless darkness.  It was all those things, but when someone became a part of the Void in their lives, it gave them a completely different perspective on it.

For a Void Wizard, whose life was so completely interconnected with the Void, it was like coming home.

Things moved in the Void, but they weren’t dangerous to anyone who knew the Void’s true nature.  The souls of Void Wizards who hadn’t yet moved on to one of the Heavens were there, but they never spoke, never interacted, nor did they linger.  Still, it meant no one was ever truly alone, so those who were aware of what was awaiting them within the Void weren’t bothered by it. 

There were certain creatures within it as well, however they were native to the Void and did no harm to those who’d come to exist there.  There were times when the Void would pulse, like a beating heart, or drums in the dark.  There were also those who didn’t belong, although they were very few, and there were times when their presence would disturb the eternal peace.  However, if those who had passed into the Void were familiar with its very nature, that was just something that was there and not much of a distraction.

Only one person had ever been cast out of the Void after death, to go back, screaming, into the land of the living.  That person was back, and the Void was not ready for his return.

This time, this one soul had been utterly disconnected from the Void; there, and yet not.  The Void could not expel them while whatever was keeping them separate from the base magic of this plane.

Not yet.

Time had no meaning.  Until it did.

And the connection was reignited, flaring back into life like a new star within the darkness of forever.

Phil Coulson found himself again forced out of the Void, although this time it was much gentler than the first…now that he could _recall_ the first.  He knew he’d come extremely close to dying if not completely there, but now it had been twice, and the memories of that first time came roaring back to him as he took his first breath of air of this resurrection.  The second death was there was well, although he wasn’t completely certain that either of them had technically _been_ death, not in that moment of coming back into the world of the living. 

The Void had seemingly sustained him, that time after Loki, while it had healed his body.  It had also cushioned his mind from the knowledge that he was so connected to the Void that it was no longer letting him die, and that made him just a little bit angry.  He should have been able to remember and not doubt himself and his own memories of awakening in that morgue, surrounded by death.

Hydra had been wrong, though, about him being Deathless, if what he’d been told was correct…and in this he had no doubt that it was.

However, there was  one other person  who could return from their so-called near-deaths, and that man was a Cardinal Wizard, the most powerful of the age.  The Deep Ways simply would not let that man die.

Of course.

It came to him.

He was the counterpart.

The equal but opposite of that Cardinal Wizard Grand Master Ianto Jones.

It wasn’t something he’d ever wanted, but then who would?

He felt the need to rage at the unfairness of it all.

However, he couldn’t, not then.  There were voices speaking, and he recognized all three of them; two of them much loved, and the third an enemy.  Not the one who had managed to distract him long enough for someone else to kill him by cutting him off from the Void, but this one was just as bad, who had helped whoever it had been who had done this to him. 

“Look,” one – his daughter, he knew that, now – was sobbing. 

Phil didn’t care for that happening in the slightest; no one hurt his only child. But, something was keeping him from responding, and he suspected that his body wasn’t quite done healing from whatever damage had been done to it yet; had he been physical injured?  He couldn’t recall that, but his entire body ached so he thought it might be true.  By his side, the familiar presence of his dragon warmed him, her emotions blooming back into that place in his mind where she’d lived since he’d turned six.

“I just want to take my Dad home.  You’ve already killed him…I just want to go home with him.”  She was pleading as if her very heart was breaking.

Daisy thought he was dead.

Well, technically, he supposed he had been, a little.

Being disconnected from the Void had to have killed him.  His own lifeforce was so tied up with the Void magic that it would have shocked his body enough to have meant his death. 

He needed to move.  Phil tried, but the only thing that twitched was his hand. 

“Oh, I don’t think so.” The enemy – Whitehall – was speaking now. Phil wondered what he had to be amused about. “We might have been wrong about him being a form of Deathless, but there’s still so many things we can learn from his corpse.  We have plans yet, for him and for the pair of you, and none of you will be leaving.”

That wasn’t going to stand.

With supreme effort, Phil spoke.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Phil’s voice sounded rusty from disuse, but at least he could speak now.

He peeled his eyes open, sitting up carefully, his entire body aching as if it had been pummeled by a thousand fists.  Phil was able to lean heavily on his elbow, so he could see what was going on around him.

He was in a room, cold and sterile, with a black shroud covering him up to his chest.  Lola was beside him, and she was rousing as well; everyone knew that the dragon died when the Wizard did, and so she must have done just that if Phil, himself, had been dead.  The table he was on was hard and freezing, and he really didn’t want to be laying on it anymore.

Daisy and an Elf – Clint, how could he forget Clint? – were standing next to what he’d been laid out on. 

At least he wasn’t awakening alone again, except for the other dead bodies.  That first time had been horrific for just that reason.

Daniel Whitehall was standing in the doorway, the expression on his face going from surprise to covetous very quickly.  His arm was in a sling – Clint had shot him with an arrow, which Phil personally thought was well-deserved, since his memories were all slotting back into place now.  Clint always hit what he aimed for, so he must have meant to shoot to main. 

Sometimes maiming was much worse than death.

Daisy was standing here, Skye on her shoulders, both hands over her mouth as if to hold any sort of sound in, her eyes round over those clasping hands.  Phil smiled at her, wanting to let her know that he was fine – he really wasn’t that sure of it himself, but he needed to reassure her.  Before he could steady himself more she’d thrown herself at him, her arms going around him as she wept on his shoulder.  Lola cooed, and Skye climbed from her perch and was wrapping herself around the other dragon, as if to make sure Lola was alive as well.

Phil met Clint’s eyes over his daughter’s shaking shoulders.  The Elf was as shocked as Whitehall was, but he was grinning through his own tears, his handsome face marred by a large bruise on his jaw, most likely from the earlier fight.  “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re okay,” he murmured, voice choked.

Well, Phil didn’t _think_ he was okay, but he’d discuss that later.

For now, he had other things he needed to do.

“So,” Whitehall purred, the smile he was giving Phil was sheer darkness, “you truly are Deathless, we just didn’t wait long enough.”

“No.”  Phil shook his head.  “I’m not.” He might not really know what was going on, but of that he was certain of, from what he’d heard.  “The Void…it brought me back.”

And it was _wrong_ in that room.

“What have you done?” the Void Wizard accused, gently pushing Daisy aside so he could sit up a little further.  “You’ve done something to the Void, here…in this place.  It’s not _right_.”

In fact, it itched, like tiny bugs crawling all over his nerve endings.  He hadn’t noticed it at first, simply because he’d been too preoccupied with the fact that Daisy and Clint where there, and that the Void had saved him for some reason.  Most likely because of the balance.  He’d need time to process what this exactly meant, but it would have to be later.

Whitehall didn’t answer.  He was backing away, and before Phil could call out to Clint to stop him, the Elf had moved and was punching the man across the jaw, sending him to the floor.  The dragon was next, because it had started shrieking and had flown toward Clint in attack mode.  “That was really satisfying,” he muttered, rubbing his knuckles absently.

“More satisfying than putting an arrow in him?” Phil inquired lightly.

“Six of one…” the Elf shrugged.  “We need to get out of here.”

“How did they…stop me, anyway?” Phil could remember the Novice, Raina, and her poisonous voice, getting into his head with her honeyed words until he’d had no choice but to agree with everything she was saying, although he seemed to recall Clint trying to call him back.  It might have succeeded, except he’d had his connection to the Void disrupted. 

“It was that.” Clint pointed toward the corner.  Laying there was a bright chain, silvery metal somehow being wrong, and he recognized it. 

“How the hells did they get Vibranium?” Phil made a mental note to speak to the Council of Barons, or at least have Marcus do it, in order to have a representative contact Wakanda in order to see if they were missing any.  If they were, it should have been reported immediately.  Vibranium was inherently dangerous, and it couldn’t be allowed out of certified hands. 

It had to be because it was in the possession of the Grand Master of Voids, and for someone to have reached that lofty position it engendered a sense of trust.  Perhaps Phil could suggest more stringent controls…

“Think you can make some kind of weapon out of that?” the Void Wizard inquired.

Clint’s smile went sharp.  “I can make _anything_ into a weapon.  I’m disappointed in your lack of faith in me, Coulson.”

“Not lack of faith.  Just confirming.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”  The Elf went over and collected the chain, using a cloth to do so, slipping it into a pocket of his trousers.  He wasn’t wearing his armor any longer, which was bothersome, because he looked incredibly vulnerable without it, and with bare feet to boot.  Still, Clint Barton was deadly without any sort of weapons in the worst situations, and this was about as bad as it could get, as far as Phil was concerned.

The Void was whispering to him; he’d been ignoring it up to that point, but couldn’t any longer.  He couldn’t have put it into words that anyone else would understand, but he thought he knew what it wanted.  “There’s something I need to do first, before we can leave.”

Daisy was glaring at him, her hands on her hips.  “You _died_ , Dad!  You probably couldn’t fight your way out of wet paper!”

He gave her a smile.  “I’m not going to fight anyone, sweetheart.  I trust that you two had some sort of exit strategy?”

“With this.”  Daisy held Nick’s teleportation ring out to him.  “I…messed with the spell to get to you, though.”

Phil accepted the ring, instantly seeing what he daughter had done.  “You have no idea how proud I am of you.”  What he was seeing within the ring was amazing.

Daisy blushed.  “I didn’t even know it would work, but there was no way we were leaving without you.”

Somehow, she’d managed to manipulate the Void just enough to make it part of the spell, which looked as if she’d used it to track him.  It was ham-fisted and inelegant, but it was beautiful all the same.

It took him but a single heartbeat to fix it, but he memorized the way the strands of magic had been warped.  By his Cardinal daughter.  They were going to have a few lessons in the future if she was going to insist on doing things she shouldn’t have been capable of doing.

Clint put his arms around Daisy’s shoulders, careful not to dislodge Skye.  “Your kid is awesome.”

He gave the Elf a grin.  “I’m aware.”  He sat up even further on the uncomfortable table or bench or whatever it was he’d been laying on, swinging his legs over the side to let them dangle, not touching the floor.  “Clint, can you act as lookout?”

“Sure.  But we can’t hang around, Phil.  They’ll come looking for Whitehall soon enough.”

“I don’t think I’ll need long.”

It was easy to read the trust in Clint’s brilliant eyes, and the Void Wizard was touched by that.  “Let me get Whitehall stowed away and I’ll keep your lookout.”

“Thank you.”

Clint’s lips curled upward in a smirk.  “You want to thank me, buy me dinner somewhere nice.”  Then he paled, as if he hadn’t meant to say that.

“It’s a date.” 

That changed the archer’s embarrassed expression to a bright smile.  “Excellent.  Let’s get to work then, because you have a date to plan.”

With that, Clint was out the door, dropping Whitehall’s dragon onto his chest then grabbing the other Wizard by the feet and dragging him away. 

That left him with Daisy, who was glaring at him, fists resting on her hips. “Just what are you planning, Dad?”

“The Void here is sick.”

“I know.  I can tell.”

That really didn’t surprise him.  Daisy had been exposed to Phil’s own magic since she’d been a child, and would be familiar with how the Void _should_ feel.  “I’m going to close the Void Point, so Pierce and his people can’t use it again.”

Daisy’s eyes widened.  “You can do that?”

“I did once before.  Clint was there, he’ll tell you.  But, this place needs to heal, and the only way it can do that is if the magic is forced back through the Void Point, so it’s no longer cut off from the rest of the Void.  Plus, we can’t leave this source of power open to them.  They’ll just screw with it again.”

She was chewing her lip, but she nodded.  “How can I help?”

Phil’s heart swelled at her offer.  “We need to find the main break in the universal veil letting the Void through to our world.  Chances are, it’s going to be belowground somewhere.”  He closed his eyes, focusing on his own connection.  “I feel it’s close.” 

He opened them once more, watching his daughter also attempting to find the Void.  She nodded in agreement.  “I got it, too.”

“Then, what are we waiting for?” Clint said, having returned from disposing of the unconscious Whitehall and his dragon.  “There’s a door that’s warded out the ass just down from here.  I’m willing to bet that’s where we need to go.”

“Lead the way.”

He slid off the table, the shroud puddling on the floor at his feet.  Lola jumped after him, first leaning against Daisy and then Clint, greeting them both happily before following Phil out of the door. The corridor beyond was empty, and the Elf was on his way down toward the right, past yet another laboratory, this was more than a little disturbing from the equipment within.  He’d apparently stowed Whitehall inside, strapped to the rather nasty-looking table by leather straps that had to have been made for the express purpose of keeping someone from getting up.  He didn’t want to know what they did in there.

He wondered where their victims had gone.  They’d have to find that out.

Phil’s legs felt like overcooked noodles.  Daisy must have noticed his unsteadiness – it was pretty obvious from his staggering – and she put her arm around him, supporting him as they headed toward the door Clint had noticed.  The Void Wizard felt it was a bit troubling that Daisy had to help him, that he couldn’t make it without her, but discarded that notion.  He’d just basically come back from the dead.  He could let her help.  She probably needed to do _something_ , after all that.

The door was exactly how Clint had described it.  While he might not have had magic of his own, Elves were more attuned to the natural world, and could sense magicks.  That ability made the Wizards who came out of the Elven Enclaves some of the more powerful; he’d noticed it about Daisy’s friends, Jemma and Leo. 

They were Great Wizards, but perhaps he might give them a few lessons as well.  And Daisy’s Void friend, Trip.  Oh, and the boyfriend he wasn’t supposed to know about…Lincoln was his name.

It was quite possibly the first time he’d ever considered teaching students.  Certainly, he’d given Daisy some instruction in certain spells, but not others.  He’d have to think about it. 

Perhaps.

Phil reached out to touch the door, the better to scan the spells involved.  It was all fueled by Void magic, which wasn’t unexpected, what with all that energy emanating from the Void Point.  And yes, it was just beyond that door, and he would have to get through those wards in order to reach the source of all the free-floating magic in that house.

“Hm…” he perused the wards, not really all that impressed.  “Daisy, you put up better wards than this.  I’d have expected better from the Grand Master of Voids.”

“Maybe it wasn’t Pierce,” Clint pointed out.  “Besides, why would they need to ward something when their own little cabal would be the only ones to access it?”

Clint had a point.  “There are still a lot of spells on this thing.  I’m wondering if the Masters used this as a teaching exercise for their Novices.”

Phil flexed the hand resting on the wooden door, catching the web of magicks in his fingers.  The dark strands tickled his fingertips, and he gently began to unweave them, some of them much easier than others, but all of them coming undone at his touch.

It seemed like the Void was helping him, not that he really needed it.  Phil had always been good at warding, and had passed that along to Daisy…yes, because she’d come home from school on a day off, complaining about a prank that had been played on her, and he’d spent the next several hours showing her how to ward, using spells that would also translate to her Cardinal sensibilities. 

It was somewhat ironic that he’d taken to warding so well, when he’d been so very good at breaking them before he’d changed his life.  Perhaps it was his ability at destruction that had given him the ease to create.

As he worked, Clint and Daisy managed a lookout, making certain no one would sneak up on them while he was working.  Phil did still feel a bit weak, but the Void seemed to be replenishing his energy a little.  He really needed to save his strength for the Void Point, because he suspected it wouldn’t be as simple to disperse it as it would have been before those idiots messed with it.

It only took a short time to take down the wards, leaving the door free of any magicks.  The door itself had a strange, carved sigil on it, but that wasn’t enchanted at all.  Some sort of decoration, perhaps, but it was an odd one if so.  It looked to be some sort of octopus, only with a skull for a head.  Somewhere in the back of Phil’s memory it tingled something, but he didn’t have time to examine it.  He needed to get inside and shut down that Void Point, to cut off these Hydra Voids from this source of magic.

It wouldn’t make them any less powerful than they were naturally, but it would take away any sort of spells that had relied on this particular point for its power.  It would also allow the Void here to heal, before the damage they’d done would travel any farther.

Before he could push the door open, Clint had done so, to reveal steps down into the dark.  It took only a moment for him to summon hand-fire to illuminate the way, the brilliant blue light reflecting from damp, rough-hewn walls that were only about the width of Clint’s rather impressive shoulders. 

“It’s really strong down there,” Daisy whispered.  She attempted to bring her own hand-fire into existence, but it was pitiful thing, flickering weakly.  It would have been stronger if the Void wasn’t stifling her powers, and she sighed in frustration before canceling the spell back out once more.

“You gonna be alright?” Clint asked, before Phil could get the words out.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.  Let’s just get this over with.”

“Agreed.”  Phil started down first, guiding the hand-fire forward, the better not to take a misstep. 

The light from the hallway vanished, accompanied by a slamming door.  He looked back over his shoulder to watch Clint turn away from the closed door, giving the Elf a nod, acknowledging the need to make sure no one realized right away where they’d gone.  They would still notice the wards down, but hopefully it would buy them some time, especially with the quick Locking spell he cast on it, fueled by the free-floating Void energy.  Couldn’t make it easy on their captors, after all.

One thing Phil hadn’t said – and he knew he really didn’t need to – was that, once the Void magic was gone, it would be obvious what had occurred.  Still, he’d fixed the ring, and it would take them back to Shield Keep, as he hoped that was the closer destination.  Once there, they could contact Nick and let him know where to send the troops, as it were.

Although, he was pretty sure his friend was already searching for them.  Especially since Daisy had been taken from the Wizard School, Nick would have known something was up, because he could be a paranoid bastard at the best of times, which this wasn’t.

They seemed to descend deep into the world, which felt odd.  The way the power was so strong in the house, Phil would have sworn the Void Point was closer to the surface.  But no…they kept going down and down, and he was beginning to worry that it would be so strong that he wouldn’t be able to close it.

However, the Void was calling, and he had to answer it.

The closer they got, the stronger it became.  The power was filling him, strengthening both his magic and his physical body, as if it was settling into every bone and muscle.  It had already been a part of his heart and soul, but this was something so very different.  Phil wanted to take time to just stop and _feel_ , but he knew that was impossible.  Closing the Void Point was what had to be done, and no amount of introspection on what he was becoming could be taken at the moment.

Eventually, they did reach the bottom.  He could hear Daisy panting behind him, and he reached for her hand.  It was clammy, she was being affected by the strength of the Void Point as it muffled her Cardinal magic.  He hated having her there, but they would be leaving once he’d done what he needed to be done, and they couldn’t afford the time to go back for her if they’d left her upstairs.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, her voice choked a little.  “Just don’t take too long, Dad.”

He turned back to look at her.  She was white as a ghost, sweat dampening her dark hair.  Her eyes were squinted and slightly glassy, bloodshot from her earlier crying, lines along the corners which told him she was in a lot of pain.  Skye didn’t look any better, hanging limply from Daisy’s shoulders. “How’s your head?” he asked softly.

“Wanting to jump off my shoulders and find a new owner, one that’s not putting it through this sort of shit.”

He’d normally caution her about her language, but Phil thought this time he could let her slide on it.

Clint huffed out a laugh.  “The air’s a bit thick down here, even for me.”

Phil didn’t feel that way at all, but then this was his element.  “Let’s get this done so we can go home.”

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Daisy sighed.  “This makes me wonder how all the Voids deal with all that Deep Ways magic at Gateway, no matter what Master Jasper says.”

“Gateway is different,” Phil explained as he entered what looked to be a natural cave, barely as tall as he was.  “It’s not as concentrated there as here and it’s not a traditional Cardinal Point, really, because it was created and not come into being naturally.  Here…this is as strong a Void as I’ve ever felt.  Add to that the mess those idiots have made in the magic…no, Gateway is infinitely easier to deal with than this is.”  He didn’t add, _for you_ , but then he didn’t think he needed to.  Here, he was at the height of his power, no matter what he’d just gone through.

The passage opened out into a cavern, so tall his hand-fire could not reach the roof and still illuminate the floor.  The walls glittered in the light, bright micas and other bits of minerals reflected some of the bluish light, while others absorbed it.  The air was cold and still, and through his grasp on Daisy’s hand Phil could feel her shiver.  He wished he had something warm for her; sensing her master’s thoughts, Lola was by Daisy’s side in a heartbeat, leaning against her and throwing her wings out wide, wrapping them about her in an attempt to keep in her body heat.  Daisy gave her a grateful smile and a rub across her head crest.

Phil used his magical senses and sight to locate the actual Void Point.  It was directly in the center of the cavern, and with a flick of his wrist the Wizard sent his hand-fire toward it, to light the way.  He didn’t follow it immediately; instead, he turned toward his daughter and his…more than friend.  “I’ll go and take care of things.”  He handed the ring back to Daisy.  “When I’m done, I might not be able to send us home, so I’m relying on you to use the ring.  It should get us all back to the Keep.” 

He met Clint’s eyes.  “I’m counting on you to come and drag me out of there if I’m overwhelmed.”

The archer nodded.  “We won’t leave you behind.”  Then he smirked. “You have a date to plan.”

“Yes I do.”  Before he could even think to stop himself, Phil reached up, clasped the back of Clint’s neck, and pulled him into a kiss.  It was messy and they bumped noses but it was the most perfect kiss the Wizard had ever had.  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he sighed, once they’d pulled away from each other.

“We’re gonna have a talk about that, Phil,” Clint warned lightly.

“If we must.”  Phil pulled a face that said he didn’t really want to.  He did, but he couldn’t help the light teasing.

That had the Elf laughing.  “We must.  Because I was just as bad as you were, apparently.”

“Dad.”

Daisy was rolling her eyes at him, and he couldn’t help but grin at her.

“There’s a time and a place,” she groused, “and it’s not in a cave with a whacking great Void Point in it.”

She did have a point.

Still, he couldn’t regret it.  Not one bit.  He’d been wanting to kiss Clint for years, and the only thing that had stopped him was the notion that he didn’t deserve to be happy.

Thanks to Daisy, that idea had been gone a very long time now.  Because she showed him that it was perfectly alright to be a Void Wizard, and to be happy, and to have a family and loved ones.

He regrets…oh, he _regrets_.  For not finding Clint and telling him that he was alive.  For not kissing him over a decade ago.  For not exploring whatever might happen between them.  But now, he’d gotten this back, and wasn’t going to lose it again.

Phil Coulson, Master Wizard of Void Order, had a job to do. 

He didn’t say goodbye, because he fully intended on coming back out of that Void Point.

He turned on his heel, and walked toward his destiny, Lola at his side.

In that moment, he knew this was exactly what it was.

His destiny.  One of many, he felt certain.

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

 

If, for some reason, Phil didn’t come out of that Void Point again, at least Clint had finally gotten one kiss in.

Screw that.  If Phil didn’t come back out, Clint _was_ fucking going in after him.  After all, that was what Phil wanted, so he wasn’t going to disappoint the man because he was trusting Clint to save him if something went wrong, and he wasn’t about to betray that trust.

He watched, Daisy at his side, her dragon barely moving on her shoulders, as Phil Coulson walked purposefully toward a black smear staining the rocks at the very center of the cave, a deeper sort of shadow that didn’t make any sense.  That stain seemed to be breathing, and without a single ounce of fear Phil stepped right into it, raising his hands while turning back to face them, Lola sitting at her Wizard’s feet like a bright sentinel guarding him from danger.

Phil’s eyes were black, the black of the Void.  Bands of darkness rose from the cavern floor, wrapping around his raised hands, as if it was being called. 

Of course, it was, by the man who’d once already taken on a Void Point and had loved every minute of it.

“Are you sure he’s going to be alright?” Daisy asked, her voice small and scared.  He glanced at her; her eyes had changed as well, tiny golden flecks swirling in the brown depths.  Even though she was Cardinal, she had to have been seeing more than Clint was; honestly, the only reason he was seeing the Void was because of a combination of his Elvish blood and the uncanny eyesight he’d been born with. 

He reached out, taking her hand in his.  He didn’t like the way it was trembling, but she was in a hostile space, and her father was about to do what a lot of very powerful Wizards considered impossible.  She was most likely scared and in pain.  He knew her head was hurting, from the suppression of her magic by the Void Point, but she’d also been put through the wringer today and was most likely just ready to curl up somewhere and hide.

“He’ll be fine,” Clint reassured her.  “He’s done this sort of thing before, you know.”  Although, thinking on it, it had been a Void Point that _hadn’t_ been tainted by crazy Wizards who didn’t care what they did or how it affected the warp and weft of magic. 

“I always knew Dad was powerful, but this…” Daisy shook her head.  “This is something else entirely.”

She wasn’t wrong. 

“I know you know about Phil and his brush with evil.”  He didn’t look at her; instead, his attention was all on the Wizard.  He was moving his hands as if he was directing an orchestra, the Void dancing at his command.  Clint could _see_ the darkness, but he knew that Phil was seeing so much more, in tune with the magic he was manipulating.  The Elf had always wanted to ask if the Void was really as dark as it appeared to him; if it had its own colors and contrasts that only Voids could see, but he’d never asked.

“Yeah,” Daisy murmured.  “He…doesn’t really go into it a lot, because he’s really ashamed of that part of his life.  He once told me that he regretted paying more attention to his parents and not enough to his teaching Master.  Because his Mom and Dad didn’t know what Mistress Suzie did, and yet he’d believed them instead of the person who had first-hand experience.”

Clint could see it.  “I’ll be honest: I never really knew that stuff about his folks until just earlier today, when Nick told us about it.  But I always saw something in him, a spark that was buried so deep that I know he wasn’t even aware that it existed.  He was so angry…I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone that angry at the world, and I had the shittiest childhood you could imagine.”  He wasn’t going to go on about his Dad being an abusive asshole and how they’d all gotten kicked out of the Elven enclave they’d lived in, or how that bastard taken all that out on his Mom until she couldn’t fight back anymore and until it had finally killed them both.  And how he and his brother had run away, joining a traveling show, and everything that had come from that.  Maybe he would, at some point, but today that wasn’t what he wanted to get to.

“I wasn’t enough to bring that spark out.”  And Clint would forever be disappointed, but he could certainly understand it.  “ _You_ were.  You changed him, for the better.  He’s the man he was meant to be, and you did that.  And there is no way he’s gonna leave you if he can avoid it.”

Then he did glance in her direction.  There was a small, happy smile on her pale face, her eyes shining.  “I’d run away from four different orphanages when he found me.  Each and every one of them had been horrible.  I’d been hiding out when Loki and his army showed up, and I really thought I was going to be killed…and then this man found me.  He looked like he’d been in the war himself, covered in blood and wandering about aimlessly, like he’d seen something horrible and was in shock.  Of course, I didn’t know at the time that he’d actually woke up in a morgue, but I just had this feeling that he’d take good care of me.  I didn’t even hesitate to take his hand and let him lead me away.”

“I hope you don’t mind me and your Dad trying to be together.”  Her opinion was important to him, just because Phil had chosen _her_.  He loved her more than anything.  Clint wasn’t about to get in the middle of that, and if she told him no then he’d agree to it.  He might not like it, but he’d leave on her say-so.

“Please.”  Even though he was back to busily watching Phil do his thing in the Void Point, he knew she’d just rolled her eyes at him.  “My Dad has taken care of me since I was six, and it’s about time someone takes care of him and he won’t let me do it because I’m his kid.”

Warmth curled seep within the archer’s chest at her acceptance of him.

“But,” she warned, “if you hurt him I will curse you.”

“That’s fair.” Because the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Phil.  He’d deserve whatever she dished out if he did.

They were silent then.  Phil was almost completely obscured by the blackness, and while Clint was concerned, but he also knew that the Wizard was perfectly capable of doing what he’d said he could.

As the two of them watched, the Void suddenly flared upward, to the point where Phil was completely obscured by the dark.  He felt Daisy jerk forward, but his grip on her hand kept her from going to her Dad; that could have been potentially deadly if she stepped into the physical manifestation of the Void. 

“But, Clint –“ she screamed.

“Just wait.  Trust him that he knows what he’s doing.”

Time lost meaning as they stood there.  Clint was holding his breath, not realizing he was actually doing it until his lungs began to ache a little from the lack of air.  He inhaled as silently as he could, not wanting to let Daisy in on the fact that he was now just as worried as she was.  The Void had formed a shield around Phil, almost like a wall, and it throbbed while at the same time was as solid as stone.  Even if Clint wanted to go to the Wizard’s side, he knew he’d never make it past the Void that had enveloped Phil.

Suddenly, cracks began to appear in the Void, like a mirror that someone had slammed something heavy into.  The cracks began to whip around, just like the winds of a maelstrom, the center calm and clear.  Through the breaks in the flying splinters of Void, the eye of the storm seemed to be empty, and Clint’s heart seized in his chest as he realized that Phil was gone.

Daisy must have seen it as well, because she screamed again, this time wrenching her hand away and moving toward the vortex.  Clint had to physically grab her in order to stop her.  “You can’t!” he cried out, pulling her against him in order to hold her still.

“But I have to save him!”

The girl struggled in his arms, but Clint held on, knowing that Phil would never forgive him if something happened to his beloved daughter. “Trust him!” he exclaimed.  “Your Dad is powerful.  He knows what he’s doing!”  But there was a small voice in the back of his mind that was whispering that he was gone, that _Phil_ was gone, and that he needed to get in there to save him.

“But he’s gone!  The Void took him!”

“He’s part of the Void!  And he’s been there before!” He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to dislodge Skye, who wasn’t reacting to her Wizard’s distress; that in itself was very worrying.  “Just wait, Daisy.  Trust your Dad to come back to you.”  _To us,_ he wanted to add, but Clint knew that, no matter where their relationship may go, Daisy would always be Phil’s number one priority.  And he was perfectly fine with that.

The swirling Void began to slow, falling in upon itself toward the center of the disintegrating vortex.  As they watched, the broken bits fell into a pile, and then melted into a pile of fluid Void, writhing and twisting as it grew smaller and smaller, compressing into less and less space.

Before it could vanish completely, it suddenly inflated once more.  It kept going until it exploded outward, only to get sucked back into the Void Point all in a rush.

Kneeling where the eye of the storm had once been, was Phil, his head down, looking as if he was actually relaxed, Lola still by his side.

Cradled in his arms protectively, to Clint’s surprise, was a man in old-fashioned looking armor, a shield resting on his chest.

That shield…the Elf knew it.

It was round, with a white star in the center, surrounded by a blue background and three circles, two red separated by a white one.  Clint had seen that shield before…

On a piece of artwork on Phil’s study wall.

“Shit,” he breathed. 

“I can’t believe it,” Daisy gasped.  She ran toward her Dad, dropping to the stone beside him.

Clint let her, because even though he wasn’t magic he could tell the Void Point was gone.  That barely registered, though, as he also moved toward the kneeling Wizard and the man, who was perfectly still, Phil holding onto him as if afraid the Void was going to come back and take him away again.

Phil, once registering that his daughter was there, released his grasp on what appeared to be a dead man to pull Daisy into his side, burying his face in her hair.  Clint wanted the Wizard to hug him like that as well, but they didn’t have the time.

“We need to go,” he said.  “There will be time for hugs later, but right now we need to get the hells out of here before they try to get in here.”

“You’re right.”  Phil looked up.  There were bruised circles under his eyes, which were slowly fading from the deep black they’d been, back to their usual blue.  “I want to go home.  And I _really_ want to sleep for a week, but I doubt that will happen.”  He turned to Daisy.  “You have the ring; let’s go home.”

“But Dad…” she waved toward the man who may or may not have been Sir Steven Rogers, the Paladin, who’d disappeared toward the end of the Century War.

“That’s something we’ll need to figure out, but not here.”  His voice was firm despite the exhaustion shadowing the words.

Daisy produced the ring.  Clint knelt down with the two – three! – of them and the two dragons, making certain he was in the radius of the ring’s magic, grasping Phil’s bicep, not wanting to be left behind.

The ring’s Teleport spell took a hold just as a loud banging sound came from the stairwell.

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

 

“Did you find something we could use?” Ianto inquired. He was looking much better, his color was back and he was steady once more.  Apparently, the Deep Ways replenished his energy quickly.

Pepper nodded.  She held out the brightly colored towel, carefully pulling the folds apart, to reveal a flash of white and blue material.  The Grand Master had sent her to Daisy’s dormitory room, where she’d gotten past the wards – impressive for a student but no real match for her – and had located the blouse in her Novice’s knapsack. She was going to have to have a word with Daisy about taking better care of her clothing, surprised that Phil hadn’t already done so.  Or, maybe he had, but Daisy hadn’t taken to the lesson.

“But we did scry for her,” Novice Jemma said indignantly.  “We couldn’t locate her!”

“What did you use as a tuning object?”  There wasn’t an ounce of condescension in Ianto’s voice; mere curiosity.

“A thread from a blouse that Daisy lent me.”

He nodded.  “If you’d worn it, your own essence might have masked Novice Daisy’s own.  Having something that is wholly _hers_ will get a better result.”

Both Novices slumped a little, knowing that Ianto had a valid point.  Pepper did notice that he didn’t add the fact that he was so much more powerful than they were, and that he’d had a lot of practice scrying, which would have made them feel worse.  Pepper could still remember the story of how Ianto had first discovered the Scrying spell, because he’d wanted to keep as much of an eye on Jack as possible while they were separated.  Jack had called it ‘magical stalking’ with a fond laugh.

“Now,” the Cardinal Grand Master said kindly, taking the wrapped bundle from Pepper, “if your teaching Master doesn’t object, I can give you a lesson in scrying…”

“Object?” Master Mack said, looking pleased. “Hells, I’ll probably learn something as well!”

Ianto chuckled.  “The best teachers are the ones who are also willing to learn.” He turned to Jack.  “Would you mind getting the maps from my casting chamber?  I’ll need them.”

“Not at all,” the Deathless agreed.  “I’ll be right back.”  He left the room.

“Here.” Ianto handed Novice Jemma the towel once again folded tightly around the blouse.  “Hold onto this for me, while I fetch what else I’ll need?”

The Elf looked as if she wanted to cry.  “I shall.”

Ianto nodded, giving her a gentle smile, then headed out of the room.  Novice Jemma clutched the bundle to her chest, as if willing to protect it with her life; her fellow Novice put an arm around her, comforting her.  And himself, most likely.

“You think he’s gonna find Daisy?” Baron Nick asked, startling Pepper who hadn’t heard him approach her.  He was troubled; but then, he’d been Phil’s friend for decades, and had been around Daisy as she’d grown up.  That had to have been just as hard on him as it was on Pepper herself.

“It’s worth a try,” she said.  “We don’t have any other way of finding them, and Daisy’s most likely the same place as Phil and the Hawk…”

“Unless they’re in a place that’s unPlotable.”

That really hadn’t needed to be said.

To be honest, the longer they were out of touch with any of them, the more Pepper worried.  She was aware that both Phil and his mercenary companion could take care of themselves, but if Daisy was held over their heads…Phil would cave faster than a house over a freshly opening sinkhole.  He wouldn’t do anything to endanger his daughter, even if that meant him being killed himself.

Well, not so much killed, if what they were all assuming was true.

He could still be hurt, though, and if Hydra did know about Phil being that connected to the Void that it wouldn’t let him die, then it would give them free rein to do whatever they wanted to him. 

She couldn’t even imagine that sort of torture.

“I am still a little put out that you didn’t tell me,” Tony stated, joining them.  “Although I understand why.”

She nodded.  “It really wasn’t my secret to tell.”

“And I’m the one who’s gonna have to tell Phil he’s been outed,” Nick sighed.  “That’s most likely not gonna go down well.”

Pepper rested a hand on his arm.  “He’ll understand.”

“Yeah, hope so.”

She could sympathize with his worry, but there really wasn’t anything they could do.  Unfortunately, it had become necessary to tell people, and Pepper was sure they could help deal with any sort of fallout that would come from it getting out just who Phil was.  Damage control was something she did well… after all, she’d married Tony Stark.

Jack was back before Ianto was; the immortal was carrying a single round scroll tube, and Pepper had to wonder about the map it contained, since it didn’t look large enough to hold much.  It was obviously magical, yet she didn’t recognize the magic. 

Grand Master Stephen seemed to, however, and his nodded, grinning.  “That’s very elegant, I’ve never seen that spell used on something so small.”

Ianto followed them in a moment later, carrying a small wooden box with several magical runes carved on it. .  “Can someone please take this while I get the maps?” he requested.  Novice Leo hastened to volunteer, clutching onto it as tightly as Jemma was her wrapped bundle.

Jack set the tube down onto the table, stepping back as Ianto drew his wand and flipped open the end of the tube.  The stopper popped open, and the Grand Wizard murmured something, moving his wand over the opening.

He reached inside with two fingers, and began pulling out long, rolled up, papers, far more than should have fit inside.

“Oh,” Pepper gasped.

“That is amazing,” the Great Grand Master breathed, a huge grin on his face.  “I have a Dimensional Expansion spell on my library, but this one is far more intricate.  There’s Protection and Stasis magicks involved as well…”

Pepper had to agree about it being amazing.  She’d never seen anything like it, and she’d been Ianto’s Novice.  The magic sparkled in her sight, but she could tell it wasn’t exclusively Cardinal magic; it was mostly the sort that the Greats employed. 

Even Mistress Maria looked impressed, and that wasn’t an easy thing to do.

“How is that possible?”  Tony demanded. 

“That wasn’t wholly Cardinal magic,” Mistress Maria exclaimed, almost accusingly.

As Ianto unrolled the maps, he explained, “It was a gift from a dear friend.”

“Master John,” Jack mentioned, standing away from his busy husband, not wanting to get in the way. 

“Master John Smith?”  Mistress Maria demanded.

Ianto closed up the scroll tube, then set it aside.  “We weren’t always close, but in later years we got past all that and became close.  After all, he was my many times great-grandfather.”  He shook his head fondly.  “Time travel.  It can play merry hells on personal relationships.”

“So all the old stories are true!” Novice Jemma piped up excitedly.

“He could really time travel?” Novice Leo echoed. 

Pepper noticed that they did that a lot, completing each other’s sentences and thoughts.  She wondered if some sort of mental magicks were involved, or if they were just that close.

“Well,” Jack answered, “ _he_ couldn’t…but his dragon could.  Tardis was always able to teleport, but the time travel thing was a spell that Master John found somewhere.  It was after my time traveling with him…after I died the first time.  Eventually, when he decided to settle down and become a teacher, he let the time travel spell fade.  He was perfectly happy with what he was doing and not wanting to travel anymore.”

“Master John was also good at several types of transformative magic,” Ianto continued, taking the maps back and laying them out on the tabletop.  “He was more than happy to show me what could be adapted to Cardinal magic…or could be cast without it.  That tube is very handy to have, and I’ve enchanted several others that I use to preserve the most ancient documents…”

“I have a set of saddlebags with the same spell,” Jack added.  “One can store my armor _and_ a months’ worth of supplies with no problem.”

“I have a scroll with the larger spell on it, supposedly written by Master John himself, but I’d really like one of this, as well, if you don’t mind sharing,” Grand Master Stephen said, sounding almost covetous. “I tried to adapt the one I have for smaller use, but cannot get it to work just right.”

“I’ll make sure you get a copy,” Ianto promised.  “Now, let’s get to the scrying bit.  Leo, may I have that box back, please?”

The Novice handed it back, and Ianto thanked him politely for holding it for him.  Ianto flipped open the lid, revealing several pendulums already made.  They all had a clear crystal on one end of a gold chain, with a large O-ring at the other.  Pepper could tell none of them were enchanted as yet, and she had to smile that her old teaching Master would have so many on hand.

“Jemma, if I might have the blouse?”

Novice Jemma started; she’d been as interested in the scroll tube as everyone else and had watched avidly as Ianto had spread the maps it had contained all over the large table.  She passed the wrapped blouse over, and the Grand Master accepted it with the same thanks he’d given Novice Leo. 

Ianto pulled the towel open, revealing the contents.  “Now, we only need a thread… it’s best to use something from one of the cuffs or the collar…it’s a form of sympathetic magic, being close to pulse points…”

Carefully checking the fabric over, he found a loose thread that he teased away from the left cuff.  “This should do.  I usually like to find a couple, but I don’t want to ruin such a pretty blouse.”  He smiled at that.  “My Tad was a master tailor.  I learned to respect clothing at this knee.”

“It’s handy when my cloak gets damaged,” Jack laughed.

The smirk Ianto gave him was just this side of filthy.  “I do love that cloak.”

Pepper blushed slightly, having seen that ‘love’ inadvertently one time when she’d been a Novice and had come to Ianto for help with an issue with a spell.  It had been…educational. Up until that point she hadn’t realized that the human body could be that flexible.

Ianto chose one of the pendulums by the O-ring at the end of the chain, lifting it out between the index finger and thumb of his left hand, careful not to touch either the crystal or the rest of the chain.  “Now, the very first time I attempted this, the crystal I was using exploded.”  The smile this time was teasing.  “I’ve gotten much better at it since.”

Instead of everyone backing away at that vague warning, everyone in the room crowded closer around the table to watch.  Pepper laughed internally at that.

“Ask him to show you the collection of scrying crystals he’s made over the years,” Jack joked.  “He’s made them for everyone he’s ever known.”

Jack wasn’t kidding; Pepper had _seen_ that collection.  There was even a crystal there that Ianto had attuned to her.  It should have been creepy, but there wasn’t a creepy bone in the man’s body.  It was because he truly _cared_ , and wanted to make certain his loved ones were safe, and he never used them unless it was important.  Pepper was honored to have been included in that select number.

“You tell everyone that story, Ianto,” she had to get in on the teasing.  When he’d told it to her, it had scared her so badly her crystal had been damaged when she’d botched the spell.  It had turned out that scrying wasn’t one of her talents, so she was suitably impressed by the two Novices – and their teaching Master – who were all three watching the Grand Master so avidly as he explained the spell he was about to perform, for even to have attempted it at all.

“It’s a good lesson,” he protested lightly.  “Sometimes we learn the most when we make mistakes.”

Pepper really needed to speak to Ianto about taking on students once more.  As far as she knew, Pepper herself was the last Novice he’d trained, and that was a shame.  He was quite good with the young ones, and to have that sort of natural ability and not using it was a waste.  There were a couple of up-and-coming students she’d need to discuss with him, especially that Maximoff boy…

And perhaps she should also speak to Phil when this was all over.  Just from the state of Daisy’s wards, Pepper could tell that he’d had a hand in her learning such higher-level magicks.  It certainly helped that he’d taught her how to adapt them to fit her own magical affinity.  Plus, young Pietro had a Void sister, which should have actually been impossible since types of magic ran in families, and Pepper could see they could very well be good for each other.  Besides, Phil really needed to be less of a hermit than he was.  It wasn’t healthy in the long term.

Ianto began to hum, and his eyes changed.  Magic always showed up in the eyes, but the Grand Master’s were the only ones she knew of that the pupils became completely blown and the gold around those pupils flashing like the sun’s corona during a full eclipse. 

Pepper could feel the magic in the air, her former teaching Master calling it to him.  The crystal at the end of the chain began to glow softly, and Ianto carefully picked up the thread he’d taken from Daisy’s shirt, wrapping it around the chain, tying one end into a knot just below the O-ring he was holding, dexterously using just the fingers of his free hand. 

The tone of the humming changed.  Pepper knew what that meant; it was yet another part of the spell he was using to attune the pendulum to Daisy’s unique personal energy.  As they all watched, the thread bonded to the chain, becoming a part of the magical item.  Nothing would be able to remove it, barring the total destruction of the crystal.

The humming faded, as did the magic from Ianto’s eyes.  He blinked once, glancing over at the avidly watching Novice Wizards.  “Did you get the spells I used?” he asked kindly.

Novice Jemma nodded.  “That last one… it was an Attuning spell.  It went active when the thread became a part of the pendulum.”

“And the first one…” Novice Leo considered.  “I understood the Seeker spell.  But there was another one…Clarity, perhaps?”

“Close,” the Grand Master corrected.  “It was a combination of Clarity and Affinity.  The item has to be prepared for the Attuning by giving it an affinity with what I’m using to make the actual attunement.”

“I didn’t do that,” Novice Jemma sighed. 

“So, next time you will.” He nodded encouragingly.  “Please let me know how it works.”

That got him twin smiles.  “Thank you, Grand Master,” Novice Jemma replied, gratefully.

“Yes, thank you,” Novice Leo said at the same time.

“I have to throw in my thanks as well,” Master Mack added.  “I’ll be adding that to my lessons in the future.”

“Excellent.  Not every Novice will be able to perform the magic,” and that earned Pepper a glance, “but there will be some who will benefit.”

“The lesson has been nice,” Nick spoke up, “but shouldn’t we be using that fancy doodad to locate Daisy?”

“Indeed we should.”  With that, Ianto moved the crystal over a map of the western coast cities of the Western Lands.

That made sense.  After all, it seemed as if this was all happening there, so searching in that area first was their best bet.  The crystal swung freely over New Andrade, then south toward Triskelia.  The pendulum didn’t react there, so Ianto moved it farther west…and then it straightened, as if the chain had become solid. 

It dropped, landing on a section of coastline near what was labeled Golden Gate, a large trading  and shipping hub north of Ferrous and that looked less like an enclave of evil than anything Pepper had every seen.

“That’s Baron Henry Pym’s territory,” Tony said.  “We’ll have to contact him to get permission to make a raid – “

He was interrupted when the crystal suddenly twitched.  Surprised, Ianto lifted it from its place and let it swing free once more, where it dropped onto the map in a mountainous area in Triskelia.  Nothing was marked on the map, and it appeared to be out in the middle of nowhere.

“What the hells?” Baron Nick exclaimed.

“Where is that?” Jack wanted to know. 

“That,” the Baron snorted, “is where Shield Keep is, and is supposed to be unPlotable.  It appears as though Daisy’s rescued herself and has gone home.”

 

 


	23. Chapter 23

 

“…and that’s it,” Barton said.  “We used that teleport ring and came back here.”

The entire group in on the Hydra thing was spread out around a large sitting room at Shield Keep, the fireplace cracking brightly, casting the room in warmth.  Maria had taken a place on a chair that a woman Nick introduced as Melinda May had provided, to make up for all of the visitors, sitting near Grand Master Stephen, who’d taken an overstuffed armchair that looked as if it was about to swallow him whole. 

Everyone who had been at Grand Master Ianto’s house was there, except for Baroness Eirlys, who’d stayed home as she’d claimed it didn’t have anything to do with Baronial business…well, not Gateway business, at least, until the Hydra cabal could be brought before the entire Quorum. Master Mack had also stayed behind, claiming that he had students to teach.  Novices Jemma and Leo had been excused when they’d turned twin pairs of puppy eyes on their teaching Master, wanting to go to wherever their friend was.

Nick and Baron Tony were representing the Council of Barons for the Western Lands, both glowering at the Elven archer, although Barton seemed to weather the attention well, despite the fact that he was half-dressed and his feet were bare, and had a dark bruise on his jaw that looked pretty painful. It was obvious he hadn’t been treated with respect by Hydra.

Novices Jemma and Leo weren’t in the meeting.  They’d accompanied Novice Daisy up to her room, claiming that she looked terrible and needed to rest.  Maria couldn’t argue with that, and that was _before_ Barton had shared with them everything that had happened with Hydra.

After, she could understand that young woman wanting to sleep for a week.  Although Maria doubted that was going to happen.  Just because of the nightmares Daisy Coulson was likely to have over this.  Especially if it was true that Master Phil had died…and come back to life.  That would have scarred anyone.

She wondered just how Grand Master Ianto dealt with it when Captain Harkness was killed, or vice versa.

On second thought, she really didn’t want to know.

Honestly, Maria hadn’t known what to expect from the house belonging to the man who was considered one of the worst Void Wizards to have ever lived.  She’d imagined a dark keep, all stone, with an oppressive atmosphere and shadows in places shadows shouldn’t exist.  Instead, it was airy, and bright, with more windows than the Great Wizard’s own house had…yes her house was smaller, but the sheer number of windows…all showing a mountain view that was nothing less than breathtaking. 

She’d gotten the stone part right, though.  It was obvious this place had once been some sort of battle keep, but it had been transformed into a home that anyone could have wished to raise a child in.

And yes, there was magic, but it was a combination of all three types: mostly Void-less or Cardinal-less magic, but with a surprising mixture of both woven about the place that reflected the Wizards who lived within.  The wards were incredibly ornate, and that unPlotable spell was _amazing_. No one would have been able to find this place,  not even with some major magical help.

She was very surprised that Grand Master Ianto had been able to with his scrying crystal, actually.  But then, he’d been searching for Novice Daisy, and not the Keep, so that most likely had more to do with it than anything.  He was also very powerful, to boot.

The Keep’s Stewart, Melinda May, was magicless but no less competent for it.  When they’d all shown up in the foyer without warning – thanks again to Grand Master Ianto, who certainly knew his way around teleportation magic –  she’d taken it in stride and gotten them all settled in the sitting room they currently were in, and even managed to rustle up refreshments for them all. 

There was only a vague taste of Void in the roasted meat, most likely because a Cardinal lived there as well.  Everything else was clean.

Barton had taken center stage.  The story he’d shared had seemed fantastical.  But Maria had no doubt that every single word was the truth.

She had some very serious worries about it.

No, change that to _fears_.

Nick had told them about his certainty that Master Phil had died from the wound Loki had given him.  Maria hadn’t exactly doubted him, but she also had to wonder just how much of that had been Nick reinterpreting what he’d seen into something else, to perhaps explain his accidental pronouncing of his friend’s death. 

The chain of Vibranium that was lying on the table – and Barton’s own serious words – were something else altogether.

“We need to get word to Wakanda,” Nick was saying.  “King T’Chaka needs to know that someone’s got a hold of Vibranium and is using it to kill my friends.”

Baron Tony nodded.  “That shit is dangerous.  I know Wakanda once used it in every bit of technology they had, but when the Wizards came back, they immediately stored it all away, to avoid that sort of thing.  Current ruler King T’Chaka has especially cracked down, since Prince T’Challa is a Wizard.  Cardinal, I believe.”

“And there are many different ways to keep a Wizard from accessing their magic,” Grand Master Ianto pointed out.  “Ones that don’t include killing a person.”

“You seem to know a lot about the Wakandan Royal House, Stark,” Nick noted.

The Baron Ferrous shrugged.  “Geniuses hang out.  I met Princess Shuri at a gathering once.  She’s a kid, but some day she’ll be even more brilliant than me, and I don’t say that lightly.”

Maria didn’t let her mouth drop open at that pronouncement, but it was a close thing.  The Baron was quite unable to be humble when it came to his own intelligence, and he’d _never_ say anyone was smarter than he was.  The Wakandan princess must have been something very special indeed.

“Then I’ll leave that to you,” Nick said.  “I might just get the runaround if I try.”

The Baron shrugged again.  “Sure.”

“Would you mind returning that,” Grand Master Ianto waved toward that innocuous-looking silver chain, “back to its rightful owners? I trust the Wakandans with it before anyone else.  They have experience with that sort of thing, even if they seem to have misplaced some.”

Stark reached out and snagged up the chain, using the cloth that Barton had wrapped around it.  “I’m kinda surprised it didn’t contaminate the Teleport spell you used to get here.”

It was Barton’s turn to shrug.  “That cloth it’s in is a magical Shroud, so it obscured the chain’s properties.  I’d like it back when you get rid of that thing.  Got it during one particularly crazy mission…to Buda-Pest.”

That had the Baron’s eyes widening in shock.  “I heard about that.  That was you?”

“Not just me.”

“Damn,” the man breathed, “you guys do good work.  King Wolfgang was a dick, what he was doing to those kids…”

Maria blinked.  “Excuse me?” she couldn’t help but demand.  She’d heard about Buda-Pest, and what had happened there, and she was understandably confused by what Baron Tony  had just said.

“The previous King of Buda-Pest,” the Baron explained.  “He was fond of stealing magical children from their families and…well, I could use the term ‘abusing’ them, but that word wouldn’t be strong enough.”  He moved forward, holding his hand out to Barton.  “Thanks for that.”

Mistress Pepper was smiling, as the archer shook the outstretched hand.  “It was kids.  No matter how bad the four of us got, we weren’t gonna let that bastard hurt innocent children, magical or no.”

That…was news.  Maria had heard the rumors about the razing of Buda-Pest, and how so many innocent people had been murdered by the Dark One and his companions.  Now, she had to wonder just how innocent they’d been, if they were hurting magical children. 

It gave her yet one more thing to think about.

From what she’d believed, the Dark One hadn’t cared about anything, except for how much damage and destruction he could wreak.  To know that he and his gang – including Nick, she couldn’t forget that – had gone in and destroyed an entire city just to save children…now, his adoption of Novice Daisy wasn’t so farfetched.

“I want to know about the man Master Phil pulled from the Void,” Grand Master Stephen said, adroitly changing the subject.  “Do we know who he is?”

“Well,” Barton said, “he was holding this.”

He stepped around one of the sofas, reaching down for something hidden behind the piece of furniture.  When he moved back into view, he was holding a shield.

It had a white star in the center, blue contrasting against the white.  Three circles – one white, and two red – encircled the central blue.  Maria frowned, wracking her brain for something, she thought she knew what it was…

It was Baron Tony, once again, who seemed to recognize it.

At least, judging from the cursing he was doing. 

“You willing to share with the class?” Captain Harkness asked sarcastically.

“Sorry,” Baron Tony replied.  “It just…that, that belonged to Sir Steven Rogers.”  He made a handwaving gesture while gaining an expression that made him look slightly constipated.

Barton was nodding.  “I recognized it right away.”  Strangely, he blushed a little.  “Phil has a really old piece of art with him on it in his study.”

Grand Master Stephen’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline.  “The Paladin of the Western Lands?”

“Yep.  _That_ Sir Steven Rogers.”

Alright, this was now officially bizarre…if it hadn’t been before.

“But he vanished during the Century War,” Mistress Pepper exclaimed.

“I’m afraid I’m not up on my history of the Western Lands,” Grand Master Ianto said.  “Can someone explain this to me?”

“The Century War was fought over three hundred years ago,” Grand Master Stephen began.  “It didn’t last a century, though…Baron Tony, it’s part of your family history, correct?”

“Yeah.  I had an ancestor pretty heavily involved.”  Baron Tony slumped down in the chair he’d taken, in front of the fireplace and next to Mistress Pepper.  “Howard Stark – my no-good father was named for him – ran black missions during the war.  Apparently, he was one of the people who discovered the man, Steve Rogers, when they were looking for a symbol against the Despot and the Skull and their followers.”

“For propaganda purposes?” Grand Master Ianto assumed.

“Exactly.”  Captain Harkness answered that; it wasn’t a surprise that the Deathless would have known about the Century War, since he’d been around back then.  “Sir Steve, though, wasn’t one to sit back and be the symbol.  He got out there and fought.”

“Did you know him?” Something crossed the Cardinal Grand Master’s face; Maria couldn’t say what the emotion was.

“It was easy to follow him,” the Deathless admitted. “He had a hand-picked team…the Howling Commandos.  I wasn’t part of that, but I saw them at work, and they did a lot of good.  I think I can safely say that, without Sir Steve and the Commandos, the war would have lasted that entire century everyone thinks it does.”

“The Avatar said that a version of Hydra fought in the war,” Nick pointed out. 

Captain Harkness frowned.  “I don’t recall that.  But, like I said, I wasn’t involved in whatever missions the Commandos ran.  And I’ll be the first to admit my memories can be hazy, the farther back they go.  Humans just weren’t meant to be immortal, and I forget things. It’s why I didn’t recognize that shield immediately…I needed a reminder first before it came to me.”

That admission had the entire room going silent.  Maria, in that moment, felt bad for him, to lose his memories in the years he’d been Deathless, until his far past was completely forgotten.  It sounded horrific, almost as badly as losing everyone he loved.

“What happened to him?” Grand Master Ianto asked.

“No one knows,” Baron Tony took up the tale once more.  “We know he was directly fighting the Skull.  There was a rumor that the Skull had some form of magic, but that’s up for debate.”

“The spell cutting all magic off from the world was in affect back then,” Maria had to say.

“Yeah, but we all know the spell was flawed.” The Captain shifted a little in his seat.  “Magic was popping up all over in little ways, up until the spell finally cracked apart.  It’s entirely possible that the Skull had some form of minor magic, or an artifact that hadn’t lost its enchantment.  We know those are still being located all around the world.  And Torchwood Castle has been doing the same thing for centuries, finding and storing dangerous artifacts.”

“That doesn’t explain how he ended up in the Void,” Grand Master Stephen said, “and I doubt we’ll know anything unless and until he awakens.”

“There’s still the question about just what was done to that Void Point.”  Maria didn’t want to think anyone was powerful enough to seal off a Void Point, but evidence there was to the fact that Master Phil had done just that. 

“And the whole ‘coming back to life’ thing.”  Grand Master Ianto looked a little amused, and it raised Maria’s hackles. 

She wanted to call him out on it, but he was just saying what she was thinking.  That the Dark One was now, for all intents and purposes, immortal.  It was an idea that Maria simply wasn’t comfortable with.  And to be as powerful as all that…

No, she wasn’t happy at all about these developments.

“Phil’s handled Void Points before,” the Hawk commented.  “And this time the Voids had messed with it.  I can’t do a thing with magic, but even I knew something was wrong once we were in the same room with that thing.  And what it was doing to Daisy…” He set the shield down against the wall, the better to rub his hands together worriedly. 

“How bad was it?” Mistress Pepper asked quietly.

“Bad.  We all know what happens to Voids or Cardinals who are cut off from the sources of their power, and it was gonna happen to Daisy eventually.  But, what she managed to do with that ring, even with her magic being suppressed and under intense emotional stress…” he grinned.  “She was awesome.”

“That she is.”  The Head of Cardinal Order looked very proud.

“So, he closed it,” the archer continued.  “From what he said, he really had no choice.  He couldn’t leave that sort of power to Hydra, and the Void needed to heal.”

“Well done,” Grand Master Ianto said, “and I’ll tell him so when he awakes.”

From what Barton and Steward Melinda had said, Master Phil had collapsed the moment they were back at the Keep.  They’d gotten him and his dragon up to bed, and left him to rest.  There was no telling how long he’d be unconscious.

“At least we know who’s behind Hydra now,” Nick growled, “we can do something about them.”

“We’ll need to call a Quorum,” Grand Master Ianto said.  “And we’ll need to replace Alexander _and_ Gideon as soon as possible.  Someone will need to take control of the Voids, someone who can be trusted.”

“We’ll also need to put out warnings on those involved,” Grand Master Stephen added.  “We’ll handle the Wizard side; can you, Baron Nicholas, and Baron Tony, handle the Council of Barons?”

“Count on it.”  The smile on Nick’s face was full of promised retribution.  “I’m also going to set Natasha out on their trail.  There’s no one who can hide from her, and she never gives up.  She’s absolutely relentless.  Hells, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wasn’t on Ward’s trail already, and she’ll be pissed off that Phil and the Hawk saw him first.”

Mistress Pepper had an expression of contemplation on her face. “Do you have anyone in mind to suggest for promotion to Grand Master of Voids?” 

Maria knew they’d have to do that before finding another Head of Order for the Western Lands.  And, if she was honest, she had no idea just who among the Voids that _could_ be trusted.

The Cardinal Grand Master was looking at her knowingly.  “I do believe you have a candidate in mind, Pepper.”

She smiled.  “Only the same one you’ve come up with, Ianto.”

Glancing between the pair of them, Maria realized with dawning horror just who they were talking about.  “You can’t be serious!”

That outburst earned her every eye in the room; especially Barton, who looked like he was about to cross the room and attack her for even _thinking_ about Master Phil in the wrong way.  As subtly as she could, she prepared a Stun spell, wondering if he was just as good as the rumors said at hitting whatever target he aimed at.  He didn’t have his bow, but there were plenty of things in the room that could be used as a weapon.

“I believe I _can_ be totally serious,” Grand Master Ianto said serenely.  His words seemed to relax the Elf, and he stood down from whatever violence he was considering.

“Grand Master Stephen.”  Maria turned to her superior.  “Surely you see just how wrong this is!”

“I don’t see it as wrong at all,” he answered.  “I think the only Void we can trust implicitly is currently asleep upstairs.”  He shook his head sadly.  “Maria, you need to let this go.  If Master Phil ever deserved punishment for his past deeds, then that time is long behind us.  He’s lived a quiet life, raised a rather impressive child, and has most likely punished himself over and over for what he’d once done.  If anything, he’s just proved himself by walking into that meeting and then being killed by the rogue Voids.  And just because he came back doesn’t negate the fact that he hadn’t _known_ he’d be resurrected by the Void.  He went in there willingly, risking everything to bring us the information we need to shut Hydra down. He has proved himself.”

“He isn’t the Dark One anymore,” Mistress Pepper murmured.  “He’s Master Phil Coulson, Void Wizard, father of Daisy Coulson, Cardinal Novice.”

“Maria,” Nick joined the gang-up, “Phil’s parents fucked him up, but he’s learned how to be what he was meant to be: a good man.  He’s my friend.  If you can’t accept that…”

“You’ll kick me out of bed?” she snarked angrily. 

“No.”  His face was fond…well, as fond as Baron Nicholas Fury ever looked.  “But it’s over.  It’s in the past.  Phil’s more than made up for what he’s done.  And Grand Master Stephen’s right: there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that Phil hasn’t regretted what he did.  He’s finally learned where the blame of that lies, and it’s taken him a long time to deal with it.  So, you should think about giving the man a second chance.”

Then he turned to the others.  “You can ask, but I’ll be willing to bet my eyepatch that he’ll turn you down flat.”  His face had morphed into smugness.

“If we explain it right,” Grand Master Ianto said, “I’ll take that bet, Baron Nick.”

Maria wanted to argue against this.  They were wanting to put the Dark One in charge of all the Voids in the world.  The man who was responsible for more death and destruction than some small wars was being offered all that power. 

Still, and she hated to even think it, the idea made a sort of sense.  If Master Phil was like Grand Master Ianto, in being so connected to his source of power that he was close to immortal, and so powerful that he could close a diseased Void Point on his own, then he was already powerful enough to fight off all comers for the position, although Nick seemed pretty certain he wouldn’t accept it.

Which, really, seemed a bit out of character for a man she’d long believed to be out for that sort of power and authority anyway.

She still didn’t like it.

Then, she realized she didn’t have to.  They were going to do this whether she objected or not.  She wasn’t the one who would have to work with him.  And besides, it really wouldn’t be up to the Wizards in this room to appoint a new Grand Master…it would be the task of the rest of the Void Wizards, to nominate who they’d want to take charge.  The problem was, they were correct in a way…there really wasn’t any other Void who was above reproach at this point, and who was powerful enough to hold onto the position against any comers.

But it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out.

Just in case.

She may have been given a lot to think about over the last day, but that didn’t mean she’d forget just who Phil Coulson was.

She wasn’t about to, no matter what anyone else said.

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

 

Daisy was so pitifully glad that Jemma and Leo were there.  She didn’t think she could handle dealing with everything by herself.

Her Dad had collapsed as soon as they’d gotten back home, but that wasn’t such a surprise, really.  She’d witnessed what he’d done, shutting down and sealing off that Void Point, and she’d never once before that moment considered him to be as powerful as all that.

His coming back from the dead had been a complete and utter shock as well and, as she considered everything she knew about him, it really shouldn’t have.

Daisy remembered quite vividly how he’d looked when he’d found her.  She’d seen the slices in his tunic that, if she’d traced them through his chest, would have meant his heart had been shredded by whatever had caused those tears.  No one should have been able to survive that sort of injury.  Him rising from the dead was something she should have given more thought to.

But she hadn’t.  And that was understandable, really, because who would even consider that sort of thing?

Sure, she knew about the Deathless and such, but this was her _Dad_.  The last thing Daisy wanted to do was believe he’d be _tortured_ like that.  She didn’t personally know Captain Harkness or Grand Master Ianto, but immortality had to be absolutely _horrible_.  Just the idea that she’d die before her Dad would even age had her heart aching for him. 

She was absolutely exhausted, her head pounding fit to burst.  She was ready to collapse herself, but was too wired to lay down in her bed.  Skye, recovered from her own brush with death, was cooing at her quietly, very much aware of how bad she was hurting and was sending her soothing emotions through their bond.  She couldn’t help but cuddle the dragon in thanks. 

She desperately wanted her father.  But he was sleeping in his own room, and not likely to awake anytime soon.  Daisy wasn’t about to bother him, not when he was in worse shape than she was, but that didn’t stop her from needing him to tell her everything would be alright.

But she had Jemma and Leo.  Her friends.  Who were willing to stay with her, to keep the nightmares away.  They’d tried to look for her, and had gone for help when it was obvious she was missing.  They wanted to support her, to help her, and she was so very grateful she didn’t have the words to describe how that made her feel.

Once she got to her room and without any thought to their sensibilities, the young wizard stripped off her clothing and changed into one of her softest nightgowns, the fabric silky against her too-sensitive skin, putting her gauntlets away in their special storage box in order to recharge the magic in them.  Daisy knew she really should bathe, she felt unbelievably grimy, but was just too tired to do it.  She’d get clean after her long overdue nap.

“Come along,” Jemma urged.  She was blushing faintly at Daisy’s quick display of nudity; Leo, on the other hand, flatly refused to look in her direction until she’d told him she was dressed…and then he got embarrassed all over again at seeing her in her night clothes.  “Let’s get you tucked into bed.”

Jemma had thoughtfully turned her covers down, and Daisy crawled into bed and, with a sigh, she laid down, sinking slightly into the mattress.  Jemma pulled the blanket up over her, actually tucking her in, and Daisy gave her grateful smile.

However, when Jemma went to move away, Daisy snagged her hand.  “Please…can both of you stay?”

Jemma gave her a gentle smile and sat back down on the bed, Professor sitting on the floor, his large head resting on the duvet as he hummed tunelessly.  It was a pleasant sound, so Daisy reached over and gave him a skitch in thanks.

Leo took the other side of the bed, with Turbo curled up next to Skye at Daisy’s side, whose mental presence was as tired as Daisy felt. 

“You should know,” Leo said, “we know all about your Dad, and who he is.”

“Or was,” Jemma corrected.

Daisy sat  up, and she thought her head was going to fall off her shoulders.  She barely noticed as she panicked at what her friends had just said.  “How?” she gasped.

“They let us sit in on things,” Jemma hastened to add.  “When we realized you were missing…”

She spilled everything, from the moment that they’d noticed she was gone til their arrival at the Keep after they’d found Daisy through scrying. 

Daisy wanted to be appalled at the casual disclosure of her Dad’s secrets like that.  She could understand it, though; Dad just couldn’t hide anymore, and now that it was all out in the open there was a small bit of her that was relieved.  However, she was more than a little scared, because the Dark One had done a lot of bad things and Dad wasn’t that person anymore, yet he’d gladly turn himself in if it meant Daisy would be left alone. 

And if he did that, she really _would_ be left alone.

She didn’t want that to happen.  Her Dad might have been bad once, but he’d given all that up for her.  She loved him fiercely, and knew in her heart that she would protect him just as fiercely.

There was also Clint, who would be right beside her.  She’d been witness to that kiss.  Alright, her Dad kissing someone could have been considered gross, but she was willing to put up with it to see  him happy.  Dad had changed his life for her; now it was time for him to take a little something back, to live a little himself.

But that might not work if they were going to arrest him or something.

Uncle Nick was there, though, and she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen, either.  In fact, he’d more than likely join in on the chaos.  So, there were two others who would be willing to back her up in causing a little mayhem in her Dad’s name, if that became necessary.

“Daisy Coulson!” Jemma snapped.  “I can tell you’re about to do something very silly, so just calm down.”

“No one’s going to do anything to your Dad,” Leo added. 

“As matter of fact, Grand Master Ianto wants to help him, if what they all think is true.”

“He’s quite a nice man.”

“And he showed us how to actually cast Scrying magic correctly!”

“Wait.” Daisy could usually keep up with the pair, but she was tired and hurting and scared and needed some clarification.  “The actual Grand Master of Cardinal Order, an immortal, is here and wants to help Dad?” 

She’d never met Grand Master Ianto, but she knew that Mistress Pepper had once been his Novice, and she respected the hells out of him.  Daisy had hoped to meet him one day, when she had more experience and control under her belt…not because her Dad might be like him. 

But it gave her hope.  Hope that someone as powerful as the Grand Master might be on her Dad’s side, no matter what he’d done in the past. 

“Oh, and there’s also Grand Master Stephen,” Leo added.  “He’s fine with Master Phil being who he once was.”

“So calm down,” Jemma soothed.  “You need to rest.”

“It’s just…he died, Jemma!” Damn, she was going to cry again.  “He died, but he came back, and I’m scared for him!”

Her friend hugged her, Leo’s hand on her back, rubbing in comfort.  Two dragons tried to crawl into her lap, while the third – Professor – was just a little too big for that sort of thing but wasn’t about to stay out of events, his head fighting for room with Turbo and Skye, finally resting on her leg.

Daisy let it all out: how terrified and angry she’d been when Clint had told her what had happened, and then that terror turning into sheer relief that she wasn’t going to lose Dad so soon.  But she’d also been scared that they might take him away, and that would be worse than him actually dying for good…

It was as if years of fear were trying to escape, a fear she hadn’t even been aware she’d been carrying around, that he’d be found out and taken away from her.  Dad’s past was horrific, and he’d tried so hard to put it behind him and raise her the right way, and now it was all out in the open and people knew and…

And Jemma and Leo didn’t care.

There was a great deal of comfort in the fact that her friends were willing to accept that Dad had been an evil Wizard – well, not so evil in spirit, just in action – but had given all that up for a scared six year old who’d run away from one more terrible orphanage and had found herself alone in the middle of a massive fight, and had fought to adopt her. 

Dad had been so kind to her, she couldn’t help but love him.  And when he accepted her as his daughter, Daisy had felt like she was home for the very first time in her life.

Eventually, the tears ceased.  The young Wizard felt completely wrung out, and she didn’t object when Jemma tucked her into bed once more, shooing the dragons away except for Skye, who actually belonged there.  “We’ll stay here,” her friend promised.  “Get some sleep.”

“Wake me if Dad gets up,” Daisy mumbled.

“We will, don’t worry.”

“Everything is going to be fine,” Leo reassured her.

As sleep pulled her under, Daisy hoped that was true.  She just wanted _everything to be fine_. 

 

 


	25. Chapter 25

 

Clint swore he was going to put an arrow in Maria Hill’s eye if she didn’t stop with the bullshit.  He didn’t care if she was some sort of high and mighty Wizard.  She just needed to shut the fuck up.

He really wished Nick hadn’t called her in.  Okay, maybe it was because Nick was sleeping with her – he didn’t really think that, but it made about as much sense as anything – but that didn’t give him the right to out Phil to her. 

At least it seemed that everyone else was on Phil’s side.  Two of the most powerful Wizards in the world were vouching for his…lover?  No, not yet, but it wasn’t going to be long if Clint had anything to say about it.  Even Tony Stark was in this, which was a bit of a shock, but he seemed equally as accepting. 

Still, anyone came after Phil, they were gonna have to go through Clint first.  And he had the distinct impression that Daisy would be right beside him in protecting her father.

Not that the Wizard needed them to protect him.  Phil was perfectly able to kick ass himself.  Hells, if what Grand Masters Ianto and Stephen were saying, they wanted Phil to be the new Grand Master of Voids.  Now, wasn’t that a kick in the head?  Because Phil would be absolutely fantastic at it.

Although he thought that Nick was right about Phil accepting the position, Clint could actually see him doing that on a temporary basis, until the Void order could be cleaned up.  Because no one felt that those five they’d met were the only members of Hydra.  The leaders, yes… Clint recognized that.  But the grunts, the actual boots on the ground…no, that had to be someone – or _someones_ – else.  Sure, they had their Novices, but none of them were powerful enough on their own to make a difference.

Well, there was that bitch, Raina.  Whatever the hells power she had, it was damned scary the way she’d managed to talk Phil out of fighting on.  If she could control Phil, the Elf seriously doubted anyone would be able to stand up to her.  If he ever saw her again, he’d take her out, no questions asked.  They couldn’t take the risk of ger controlling anyone else.

And he didn’t want to even start with that Winter Knight mess.  What was up with that guy, anyway?  Sure, there’d been rumors and innuendo about him, whispers in the mercenary community, but from what Clint had heard the Winter Knight had been around for centuries, disappearing for years before being credited with another assassination and then vanishing like a ghost once more.  It would mean that the bastard was immortal, but that wasn’t possible…well, about as impossible as anything else, and there were two immortals in the Keep at the moment…three, if he counted Phil.  Which he did.  Because Clint had been certain that Phil had been dead.

He really wanted in on the hunt for those Void assholes, but he also didn’t want to leave Phil.  That kiss had been amazing, and he wanted more.  Besides, Natasha was perfectly capable of hunting them down, and she never gave up.  He could be in on the ‘kill’ later.

The thing was, it really was finally hitting Clint that Phil _was_ immortal.  That the Void wasn’t about to let him die anytime soon.  But Clint…he, himself, was mortal, with a finite lifespan, and some day Phil was going to lose him.

Maybe starting something would be a mistake.  Clint didn’t want to hurt Phil, not if he could avoid it, and would him hanging around do that when it was time for the Elf to die?  Phil was going to have enough on his plate with his daughter’s own mortality.  Did he really want to put him through that loss twice?

“I know what you’re thinking,” a softly accented voice kicked him violently out of his reverie, “so stop it.”

Clint spun on his heel, staring at Grand Master Ianto Jones as he stood in the doorway, the expression on his face one of sympathetic bemusement.  “How did you find me?” The archer thought he’d done a good job at hiding at the very top of the Keep, in a room that Phil had obviously meant to be some sort of observatory, judging from the large open space and the wall-to-wall windows that didn’t have glass in them.  The only thing missing was the telescope, and he was pretty certain Tony Stark could supply one that would have every stargazing bell and whistle on it, even ones Phil might not be aware he’d want, and have it there by tomorrow.

It was also the highest and most private place in Shield Keep, now that the place seemed to be vaguely overrun by a bunch of powerful – both magical and political – people in the Western Lands…and a bit beyond, since both the Grand Master and Captain Harkness were citizens of the United Kingdom. 

Clint also loved being up high, so this place was perfect for his woolgathering needs.

The man smirked. “You’ve just been exposed to a great deal of Void energy.  To a Cardinal, you were easy to track.”

Alright, he could understand that. “You some sort of mind reader, then?”

The smirk got bigger.  “Not at all, although I had a friend who was quite proficient with mind magic.  He once saved nearly the entire population of Cardiff Town with his ability.”

“Then how…”

“It was written all over your face.”  The Grand Master stepped further into the room, glancing around.  “I wish I had something like this in Gateway.  I think I’ll have a word with Jack about building a tower addition to our home.  He’d quite like it himself…Jack has a thing for heights.”

“And why were you looking for me?”  Clint was confused, because he couldn’t understand why Ianto Jones would be doing that.

“Because I thought I might catch you considering just what you were considering.”

The Elf laughed, and then laughed again as the Wizard’s dragon, a red and gold beauty with happily shining green eyes, bounced up to him to demand attention.  Clint couldn’t help himself; he knelt down and proceeded to scratch the dragon around her single horn.  For dragons with horns, that was practically an erogenous zone.  The dragon’s eyes closed in pleasure, and she hummed in encouragement of the attention.

“Her name is Myfanwy,” the Grand Master volunteered, amused.  “You know, if we could figure out what makes Elves so irresistible to dragons, we could come up with a spell to counteract it.  I think we’re all just glad there aren’t many Elves outside their Enclaves, or else our familiars would be all over the place and there would chaos whenever a group of Elves showed up.”

Clint had to laugh at that, because the man had a point.  No one understood why dragons adored Elves so much; it most likely had to do with the Elvish closeness to nature and, by extension, magic, but it didn’t matter that the Elf didn’t have a magical bone in their bodies.  Clint adored dragons.  He sometimes wished he could have one of his own.

“It doesn’t help that Myfanwy just loves the attention of anyone she considers quality people, and she’s an excellent judge of character.  It’s certainly telling that she’d never gotten along with Alexander and his dragon, Insight.”

“Lola didn’t exactly get along with Insight, either.”  She’d taken a chunk out of his hide, which had been awesome.

“Master Phil’s dragon also shows discerning tastes, as well.”  Any humor in Grand Master Ianto’s face faded a little.  “I know what you’re thinking, Hawk…or do you prefer Clint? Or something more formal?”

“Clint is fine.”

“Then, please call me Ianto.  I get the feeling we’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other, in the days to come.”

Clint nodded, because the Grand Master – Ianto – was right.  With the threat of Hydra still out there, and the fact that he really didn’t want to let Phil out of his sight, chances were they’d be getting sick of each other’s company at some point.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Ianto repeated, “because I once thought the same thing.”

“But you’re…” he made a waving motion that Ianto, apparently interpreted correctly as, _you’re immortal._

“I didn’t know it at the time, though.  For a short while, before we figured out that the Deep Ways loved me too much to let me go, I had the same questions you have now, being the lover of someone who could potentially live forever.”

“But, we’re not…” 

“But you want to be.”  This smile was knowing, and yet comforting at the same time.  “It’s obvious to anyone with eyes to see, just from your telling of events at Hydra’s compound.”

Alright, so maybe he hadn’t been exactly subtle in his description of Phil’s exploits. 

“I have a friend,” Ianto continued, “an Elven friend, Toshiko Sato.  She’s from one of the Far Eastern Enclaves, and she’s as close to me as my own sister was.  She was actually the first one to befriend me back when the rest of Jack’s former team thought I was a liability.”  He began to circle the room, eyes peering outside at the mountains around them.  “Tosh was quite young for an Elf when I met her; she was barely seventy years old.” He stopped and looked at Clint.  “May I ask…how old are you?”

Clint’s eyebrows rose.  “I’m…not really sure.  When I was growing up I never really celebrated my Naming Day.”  There had been too much pain in his life for it to really matter to him and, by the time he was stabbed and left for dead by his only brother the archer had completely forgotten.  “But I’m thinking I’m around forty.”

“You’re still a child in Elven years.”

It was true, but then not a lot of Elves had been through what he had, and those events had done a lot to force him into growing up.

“Which is why I’m assuming you’re not considering that you possibly have about two thousand years of life left, barring doing anything silly and getting yourself killed.”

He really wanted to rebut that, but Clint couldn’t because Ianto was right.  Elves had a disgustingly long lifespan, and if he and Phil worked out a relationship they could conceivably have thousands of years together.

But…how would that affect Phil?  After having Clint around for so long, would it be worse than if he’d only had a human length life?

Ianto rolled his eyes. “Just stop.  You are seriously overthinking this.”  He crossed his arms, his blue and gold eyes narrowed.  “My very good friend, Toshiko, met a young human soldier named Tommy Brockless.  Despite knowing she would only have a human lifetime with him, she decided to take the chance and marry him.  They were happy for nearly eighty years before Tommy died, and had had three children together.  Yes, Tosh mourned him, but she told me it was worth it to have had that short a time with someone she loved than to have never taken the chance.  I’m willing to bet that Master Phil will feel the exact same way.”

That…yeah. 

“The two of you need to talk, but I realize this might not be the time for it.  However, after this is all done…Clint, promise me you’ll make the attempt.  Believe when I say that, if given the chance, you can work it out, because if Master Phil loves you as much as you do him, he will take those years with you and be all the happier for it.”  His expression softened.  “He’s going to need you when it’s Daisy’s time.  She doesn’t have the benefit of being an Elf or having that connection to the Deep Ways that I do.  Her magic might help her live longer than a normal human being, but that won’t be more than one hundred fifty years at the most.”

It was the encouragement he’d needed.  Yes, Clint still had some doubts, but he’d try to put them aside if it meant he could spend his life with the man he’d loved from the moment he’d watched him take on his first Void Point.

Alright, it might have been earlier than that, but that had certainly tipped him over the edge.

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Good.”

“But I’d like you to promise me something.”

Ianto nodded.  “Anything within my power.”

“If Phil and I do…this, then I’d like to ask you to be there for him to support him when I’m gone.”

“That’s an easy promise to make, Clint.”  He stepped forward, resting a hand on the Elf’s shoulder.  “Both Jack and I know what it’s like to lose those we care about.  Besides,” his rather impish grim made his young face appear even younger, “I have the distinct impression we’re all about to become good friends.”

A thought came to Clint.  “If that’s so, then I have something else to ask you about…”

Ianto looked intrigued.

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

 

Phil awoke suddenly, without any sort of unconscious warning, and he sat bolt upright, tossing the blanket aside before it registered that he’d been covered with one, let alone one that was familiar to him.  His heart was pounding fit to burst, and he was having trouble catching his breath. 

He couldn’t recall the nightmare that had jolted him out of sleep, only that there’d been one and it had been horrible. 

Eyes darting around, he recognized his room.  Lola, not about to let him freak out for long, crawled into his lap and cuddled him fiercely, her own whimpers of distress echoing the Wizard’s thoughts, although she was a little big to sit on him for long.  She must have gotten some of the backlash from his nightmare, so he wasn’t about to chastise her for nearly crushing his dick with her front claws when she’d climbed up onto him.

Phil comforted her as she was doing with him, and eventually his heart rate went back to normal.  He sighed, stroking her back, mindful of her wings, until he could tell she felt better, and was ready to move away.  He felt better as well, to be honest.

He very carefully shifted her, not wanting a repeat of the near-injury from when she’d clambered all over him.

Phil sent back calm and love to her, and the dragon sighed, settling down next to his legs.  Not for the first time, the Void Wizard was glad that he hadn’t gotten a larger dragon, because if he had there would have been no way Lola could have done half the things she did, most of them involving cuddles.  He’d seen some of the larger dragons and often wondered how their Wizards dealt with them wanting to climb all over them.

Whoever had put him to bed – and he suspected Melinda and Clint of that – had pulled the curtains closed, but light was coming through a crack between the panels, the sunlight telling him that it was sometime in the afternoon.  He had no idea how long he’d been in Hydra’s hands; he and Clint had left the Keep after lunch, and it had to have been at least several hours, so if he had to guess it was late the same day they’d escaped.  Which meant he hadn’t gotten all that much sleep, and yet he was glad.  He didn’t want to keep awakening due to the bad dreams…even if he couldn’t have said what they were about.

Sighing, Phil pushed the blanket aside and swung his legs over the side of the bed.  Someone – Melinda and Clint again, probably – had put him in a pair of pajamas, for which he was grateful.  He hated sleeping in his clothes, but the particular outfit he’d been wearing could have been burned for all he cared.  He’d hated channeling the Dark One, and wanted to never do it again.

He practically staggered to his feet, light-headed, and he knew it was from what he’d done with the Void Point.  Phil had seriously overextended himself, but it had been for the best.  The Void in that house had been seriously damaged, and it had needed a chance to heal.  The only way for that to happen was to force that part of the Void that had bubbled up through the weakening of the dimensional veil back to where it belonged.  And it had been up to Phil to do just that.

Standing there, the Void Wizard poked his memories of dying, now that he had them.  He could see now that, somehow, the Void had been suppressing the memories of his original death…or at least making it easier for him to delude himself into thinking he hadn’t really died.  However, he could now very vividly recall being in the Void both times, and how he’d been forced out of death and back to the land of the living, the first time surrounded by corpses and the second time to loved ones being near. 

It didn’t make any sense, but now he knew it.  And he knew why.

Phil knew that the Deep Ways were sentient in a lot of ways.  In fact, there was the Avatar, which had gained that sentience through its interactions with Lady Rose Tyler and her manipulation of the magic during that time with the Nameless Demons.  Who was he to say the Void hadn’t, somehow, done the same thing?  Phil was pretty certain there wasn’t any sort of Avatar for the Void, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.  Perhaps the Deathforce hadn’t found one, like the Lifeforce had? 

There was still so much mystery surrounding both forces.  Perhaps there had been more knowledge back in the past, but so many of those old records were lost to time, the ones remaining those that had been written as propaganda by the Greats to justify their condemnation of the other two Orders.  It was going to be up to the next several generations of Wizards to rebuild that knowledge and to fight the prejudice that had been spread like tinder on a wildfire.

Phil shivered as he realized that he would be there for all of that.  Hells, he’d most likely be responsible for some of that.

No…while he wasn’t usually one for self-denial, Phil didn’t want to deal with this right now.  It was far too daunting a subject to face at the moment.

Of course, there was also the man he’d found within the Void when he’d been busily closing the Void Point off. The Wizard closed his eyes, thinking back to that…the Void had always talked to him, in a way; not with any sort of intelligence, but in the back of his mind, and the closest he could come to describing it would be a lover’s caress.  And, while they might not know much about how it worked, there was a bit of surviving archival evidence that suggested creatures lived within it, although no one had ever seen one.  Even his former teaching Master, Mistress Suzie Costello, had once claimed that the Void had a heartbeat, and that she’d heard it…although she never really explained how she’d managed to do that.  And, when he’d died the first time, he’d realized that those stories about other creatures within the Void had been correct even if he hadn’t remembered at the time.

When Phil had been within the Void Point…he’d heard it.  The heartbeat of the Void.  There had never been a doubt in the Wizard’s mind that it was a living entity, but that heartbeat had solidified that belief.  And, somehow, the Void had _given_ him that man, the one that he now knew was Sir Steven Rogers, his childhood hero, the man who would have been so disappointed in him if he’d known what Phil had done.  The Paladin hadn’t belonged, and the Void had spat him out the only way it could: into Phil’s surprised arms, like some sort of bizarre gift for putting up with everything the Void had done to him.

Whereas, Phil _belonged_ , just not in the way anyone would have thought.

He would bet that Clint and Melinda had taken care of the Paladin, as well.

Lola chirped at him, and the Void Wizard ran his hand over her head once more.  “Time to face the world,” he told her. 

The dragon chirped again, and he could feel her agreement, as well as the fact that she was hungry.  As if triggered by that, Phil’s own stomach grumbled in complaint, and he hoped that someone had left something already prepared in the kitchen, maybe some of Andrew’s stew, or that lamb he’d been promised before going to face down Hydra…

First, he’d check in with Daisy.  After her magic being suppressed, he wanted to know if she was alright.  He felt a little guilty about not considering her, but at the same time he trusted Melinda and Clint to have taken care of her as well.  Still, he felt like a terrible father for letting himself get wrapped up in his own problems that he’d basically forgotten about his own daughter’s needs.

Shaking off the sudden onset of self-pity, he got dressed.  It was his usual working about the Keep clothes: old shirt that was missing a button at the throat, trousers that were just a little too big and had potion stains on them, and his lambs’ wool lined slippers.  Then, with Lola bouncing at his side, he left his bedroom, to head down toward Daisy’s room on the floor below.

He didn’t bother knocking on the door.  Instead, Phil pushed the door open, just wanting to look in on her in case she was sleeping.

Her bed was empty, but it had definitely been slept in.  He made a vague, mental note to remind her to make her bed the next time she got up.

He was too busy being glad that she’d felt well enough to get up, however.  Perhaps this time, he’d pretend he hadn’t noticed.

He made  his way down the stairs and into the public areas of the Keep, wondering where everyone was.  Phil decided to check the kitchen first, mainly because his and Lola’s stomachs were making the same sorts of noises and were demanding to be fed.  He really did want to check on Daisy first, but with no idea where she was there was just enough chance of her being there as anywhere else.

As he got closer to the kitchen, he could hear voices within…one of them obviously Daisy’s, but he was also surprised to hear her two friends, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz.  When had they arrived?  Had they somehow known about Daisy’s kidnapping?  Or had something else brought them to the Keep?  Well, he was about to find out.

Entering the kitchen, he saw not only Daisy, Jemma, and Leo, but also Clint, Melinda, Grand Master Ianto Jones and Captain Jack Harkness, as well as all the dragons involved, seated around the table...which looked to have been made larger by magic, in order to fit everyone at it. 

He’d never actually met either the Grand Master or the Deathless, but they were very recognizable, and Phil had to wonder just what they were doing there.  He had his suspicions, however, mostly having to do with the revelations of Phil’s own, newly known, status.

There was also a strange man at the stove, something smelling wonderful coming from the pot on the large, main hob, his back to the doorway as the Void Wizard entered.

Clint noticed him first.  He gave Phil a relieved grin, standing up from where he’d been sitting next to Daisy.  “It’s about time you woke up, sleepyhead!” he exclaimed, moving around the table even as everyone present turned to look at him.  Clint stopped at the edge of Phil’s personal space, looking as it he really wanted to hug him but not sure how it would be welcomed.

To hells with that.

The Void Wizard grabbed onto Clint’s shoulders and pulls him into the biggest hug he could muster.

Clint sighed, relaxing into the embrace, his arms sliding around Phil’s waist and holding on tight.  “Don’t scare me like that again, okay?” he whispered.

“No promises, sorry.”  There was no way Phil could swear to the archer that he’d never be in danger again, not with Hydra still out there and what he’d discovered about his own nature. 

Clint pulled back, his eyes laughing despite his serious expression.  “Yeah, I figured you’d say that.”

“Dad!” Daisy cried.  Clint stepped away in order to give her room for her own hug.  The Wizard was so glad that she was fine, after everything that had occurred at Hydra’s compound, that he made a mental vow to never let her out of his sight again.

There was no way he could fulfil that vow, but he made it anyway.

Eventually, she pulled away as well, but it wasn’t until Phil’s stomach made its presence known again.  Daisy laughed.  “Well, now I know where I rate.”

Phil rolled his eyes.  “Please.  At least you got in a hug before that happened.”

“Come on then.”  She took his hand.  “Andrew made garlic chicken soup.  It’s a good thing you woke up when you did, or there might not be any left.  Jack eats like a bear.”

When did Daisy start calling Captain Harkness by his given name?

“And he has the table manners of one,” Grand Master Ianto teased.

“I am not that bad!” Phil was a little surprised to hear the Western accent, since Captain Harkness was from the United Kingdom…

“Yes Jack, you are.”  The Grand Master was laughing.

Wait… “Andrew?” His eyes darted to the man at the stove.

The stranger was smiling, his teeth white in his dark face.  “Hello, Phil.”  The voice was very familiar indeed.

The Void Wizard couldn’t help it; he strode toward the man, Melinda’s husband, so different from the cursed fellow who’d been living in the Keep for years now.  He was tall, and handsome, his hair short against his skull. 

“How is this…?” Phil turned.  “I take it this was your doing, Grand Master?”

The Cardiff-man wiped his mouth with his napkin.  “Please, it’s Ianto.  And it was a particularly nasty curse, and took some work, but I have had some luck with unpicking such things.”

Phil had meant to approach the Grand Master, himself, but hadn’t quite known how to go about it.  Ianto Jones was a well-respected Spell Picker, and the Wizard had had hope that, one day, the curse could be dissolved.

“Thank you.”  It was heartfelt.  He’d been a witness to Melinda’s upset at Andrew’s condition. 

“It was my pleasure. A good man shouldn’t have to labor under a curse, through no fault of his own.”

Still, Phil was grateful. 

Although, he was beginning to suspect that the Grand Master – he just didn’t feel comfortable calling him Ianto right then – was there because he could relate to what the Phil himself was going through.

“Come on, Dad.”  Daisy tucked her hand around his arm. “Let’s get you something to eat, then you can find out what’s been going on since you decided to nap for days.”

That had him stopping in shock.  “Days?”

“Afraid so.”  Clint got behind him and pushed, propelling him toward the table.  “It’s been two days since we escaped from Hydra.”

Two days.  That didn’t seem possible, but then Phil had overextended himself quite a lot…on top of technically dying. 

Clint pressed him into the chair he’d been seated in, and Daisy sat beside him.  On the other side, Captain Harkness extended a hand, introducing himself properly. 

So, this was the legendary Deathless.  He was personable and friendly, and despite not really knowing him at all Phil was predisposed to like him…even though his greeting bordered on flirting.  Under the man’s skin, the Deep Ways was thrumming away, but it wasn’t unpleasant, surprisingly enough, and not at all like shaking hands with a Cardinal Wizard.  But then, the Deathless was a different sort of matter altogether.

Andrew set a bowl in front of him, and before Phil even knew it he’d picked up the spoon and was tucking in.  The garlic meshed well with other spices, and there were large chunks of chicken and vegetables floating in a savory broth.  There was bread as well, and half a chicken for Lola, who was left to eat by the other dragons; when she was done, they herded her into a pile by the fireplace.  The red and gold dragon had to have been Myfanwy, the Grand Master’s familiar, and seemed to have taken charge of the other dragons, chattering at them and getting them into the positions she wanted.

He was seated across from Melinda, who gave him a welcoming nod.  While she still wore the same serene mask as usual, there was a gleam of happiness in her eyes, and he couldn’t help but be happy for her as well.  She was one of his oldest friends, and she’d been without her husband for far too long, Andrew ghosting about the place like a shade of a man, changed beyond anything seen by any race. 

Now, he was standing in the kitchen, before people who were strangers, and not afraid to be seen.  In a way, Phil felt as if he’d failed both Melinda and Andrew, because he’d never contacted Grand Master Ianto in order to get Andrew the help he’d needed. 

Melinda glowered.  “Stop it, Phil.”

He didn’t say a thing. 

He ate some more soup.

“It seems,” the Grand Master began, “that you’ve set quite the conundrum in the Quorum’s collective laps, Master Phil.  We will be meeting in two days to declare the Hydra cabal traitors and to have them hunted down until they’re all caught.  Alexander Pierce has been denounced and we’ll seek to replace him as Grand Master of Voids.”  He gave Phil a tiny smile.  “You’ve managed to shake things up quite sufficiently.”

The Void Wizard swallowed the mouthful of soup before he could choke on it.  “That certainly wasn’t any intention of mine.”

Grand Master Ianto waved him off.  “No, it wasn’t.  Still, it’s impressive nonetheless.”

“What about Hydra?” Phil wanted to know.

“We’ve sent out warnings for all the conspirators.  So far, we’ve managed to take Gideon Malick and his daughter.  Malick didn’t last long in captivity; he hung himself in his cell.  Stephanie followed soon after.”

“The Western Land’s Council of Barons has also been busy,” Captain Harkness added.  “Barons Nick and Tony got permission to raid the house you were being held, and with Baron Henry Pym’s aid – it was within his precept – they found some very interesting documents that got left behind, and they’re still having a look around the place for anything else they might have forgotten in their haste to escape.  We were hoping for personal items we could use to Scry for them with, but every single one of them are far too canny to leave anything like that behind.”

That almost went without saying.  After all Alexander Pierce had been a Grand Master.  He’d have been aware of the sorts of tracking spells that could have been used with just a simple thread.

“We’ve also managed to warn Wakanda that someone’s gotten into their store of Vibranium…turns out a mercenary named Ulysses Klaue was responsible.  He’s been added to the wanted list, and there’s an inventory being made at the moment to make sure there’s nothing else missing.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“There’s still quite a bit to do,” the Grand Master commented.

“And what about Sir Steven?” 

“Baron Tony has him well in hand, and he has yet to regain consciousness,” Captain Harkness answered that.  “Since it was one of the Baron’s ancestors who was responsible for finding the Paladin originally, everyone felt it was best he get the care his needs at Barony Ferrous.”  He smirked.  “Not that the Baron thought so, but Mistress Pepper can be very…persuasive.  I certainly wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.”

“And Dad,” Daisy cut in, “she wants you to contact her as soon as you can.  She was really worried about you.”

Phil couldn’t help but feel a bit of warmth in his chest at that.  He’d taken a chance confiding in Pepper, and that confidence had been rewarded by the gaining of a good friend.  “As soon as I know everything that’s been going on, I’ll call her on her mirror.” He’d just managed to finish his bowl, when Andrew set another one in front of him.  The Wizard ate this one a little slower.  “So, what else should I know?”

“You and Clint will be called to give evidence in front of the Quorum,” Grand Master Ianto said apologetically.  “I’m afraid your past might be about to get raked out into the light of day.”

That had always been a danger.  No matter how much Phil kept a low profile, there’d been a chance he’d be found out.  Garrett had, and look what had happened?  It didn’t matter how well his death was faked, there were ways to discover the truth.  Like sneaking into Asgard and questioning Loki.  Now, that had been a bit of a shock.

“We’ll try to keep that from happening,” Captain Harkness assured him, “but it’s very possible Hydra has someone just standing by to let the proverbial dragon out of the bag.”

Phil nodded.  After all, Garrett had obliquely threatened to blackmail him with letting his identity get out.  Believing that there was someone out there, ready and willing to confront him, just made good sense.

“I can also help you,” the Cardinal Grand Master said quietly. “I know what you’re going through; I’ve been in this position myself.  I’d like to help.”

“ _We_ would like to help,” Captain Harkness corrected.  “While it’s not the same, I’m also familiar with what immortality is like.”

Phil had no idea how he’d gained these two men’s support, but he wasn’t an idiot and wouldn’t turn it away.  They knew who he was, and what he’d done, and they were willing to help him anyway.

“You should also know,” Grand Master Ianto said, “Suzie Costello was a good friend.  She had faith in you when no one else did.  She saw something in you, and I trust her judgement.”

Now, _that_ had a lump forming in Phil’s throat.  His teaching Master had tried, but he hadn’t listened to her, content to be the evil bastard his parents had raised.  Mistress Suzie had taken him on, when she should have retired to live the rest of her life in comfort.  Instead, he’d betrayed her trust and had left before his studies had been completed.  Technically, he wasn’t even a true Master, that was something that Nick had arranged when he’d had Phil Coulson’s past as the Dark One covered up.  And then she’d died, and he’d never been able to apologize to her.

An arm went around his shoulders, and he found himself looking into Clint’s changeable eyes.  “I saw it, too, just so you know.  You were always a good man, you just lost your way.”

“And Dad,” his daughter added, “we got your back.”

“Absolutely,” Jemma chimed in.  Phil had almost forgotten that she was there, she’d been quiet so far.

“Completely,” Leo echoed her, in that way they had.

“These kids are our future,” Captain Harkness crowed, “and I’m damned proud to know I’ll be around to see it.”

Daisy looked as if she was about to say something about being called a kid, but Jemma leaned over and whispered in her ear.  Phil had no idea what she’d said, but it stopped his daughter from arguing about it.

“Finish your soup,” Melinda encouraged.  “You’re going to need your strength.”

“Well,” Phil managed to clear his throat, “that doesn’t sound ominous _at all_.”

The smile he got from Grand Master Ianto was scary.  “Master Phil…may I call you Phil?”

The Void Wizard nodded. 

“Phil.  At this point, the Void Order is in chaos and, while sometimes a little chaos is a good thing, this isn’t.  We’ve just proved that both the Grand Master and the Head of Order for the Western Lands were both attempting to do something that they shouldn’t have, and they were willing to force you to work for them by an act of blackmail and kidnapping.  Plus, they killed you…even though they believed you’d come back, that is still an act of willful murder.  Then, somehow, they managed to taint a Void Point and get their hands on a metal they shouldn’t have.  These charges are serious, and they will be addressed.”

Phil nodded.  There were certain things that should never be attempted, and just the messing with a Void Point would have been enough to get them expelled from the order and imprisoned in such a way that they wouldn’t be able to perform magic ever again.  But there was Daisy, and them taking his daughter was something he simply could never forgive them for.  They could have killed him a hundred times, but kidnapping his daughter earned them his never-ending hatred.

“There’s also the issue with the bad reputation that Void Wizards have,” Phil stated.  “I know you and the other Grand Masters have tried to combat the stories, but I also know it’s been difficult.  My own history is proof of that.”  He had to assume that Marcus had shared his past with everyone, and while he didn’t care for it one bit, he could certainly understand why he had.

“Exactly.  In a way, this might be a good thing.  We can get fresh blood into the higher echelons of the order, and perhaps really start combatting the stories that a certain _other_ order spread about.”

“I’m sure it’s not going to help that the very Grand Master of Voids and the Head of Order are complicit in  magical treason.  It’s just going to play into the Greats’ hands.”

“Grand Master Stephen has done all he can, but Mistress Maria Hill hasn’t made it easy.  He didn’t want her as Head of Order in the first place, but as he’s only one man he couldn’t sway the rest of the order his way.”

Now, that was a surprise.  Phil knew that Nick liked Maria quite a lot, and was thinking of asking her to marry him.  He had to wonder if she knew now just who the Dark One was, and how she’d reacted to the news. Most likely not well at all.

“In fact, Stephen wanted to be here, but he’s gone to help set up for the Quorum, and I wanted to stay until you regained consciousness.  Just for a little support, as it were.”

“I appreciate that.”  He did.  Phil really didn’t know what he was doing, or what was going to happen, and quite frankly he was on the thin edge of being completely terrified.  It was only the lessons he’d learned about his anger issues and not showing his hand that were keeping him from freaking out.  To know that he had people in his corner was settling his nerves just a bit as well.

“You have quite a lot of people willing to support you,” Clint murmured, “and not just the ones at this table.”

“Mistress Pepper wanted to stay as well,” Jemma said.

“But she had to, in Baron Nick’s words, ‘babysit Stark so he’d fucking be on time for the Council of Barons’.” Leo seemed to get quite a bit of glee out of quoting the Cardinal Master.

Phil couldn’t help the laugh that burst out at that.  Not only did that sound completely like Marcus, it was also something Pepper was very good at.  The day she’d decided to take on Daisy as her teaching Master was like getting a present he hadn’t even known he’d wanted.  She’d become a friend and she’d worked wonders for his daughter’s control.

“The thing is,” Captain Harkness said, “is that we don’t know exactly who we can trust in the Void Order.  Does Pierce have anyone else in his little cabal that he didn’t reveal to you?  We could go outside the Western Lands, certainly, but we can’t even trust other countries.  Whitehall was from the Middle Kingdom, and from what we’ve discovered about  Raina, she’s from the Oligarchies. No one is above reproach at this point.”

“We need someone in the position of Grand Master who not only has the power to hold onto it, but someone completely trustworthy,” Ianto added.

In that moment, it tumbled together in Phil’s mind.  He dropped his spoon into his bowl with a clatter.  “No.”

“Phil.  We need you to take over – “

“What makes you think they’d even have me?” he demanded.  “If my past _is_ going to come out in the Quorum, then how are they going to want the Dark One to lead the most problematic magic order there is?”  He couldn’t believe they were even considering this.  There was no way in any of the hells the Wizard’s Quorum would accept him, even _if_ he wanted the job. Which he most certainly did _not_.

“For one thing,” Ianto explained, “you’ll have me and Stephen vouching for you.  Also, Pepper will, as will Barons Nicholas and Tony.”

“And, according to the Grand Master,” Jemma added stoutly, “they’ll accept student testimony.”

“Which means Jemma and I can also say something on your behalf,” Leo finished for her.

“And of course I’ll speak for you, Dad.”  Daisy leaned on his shoulder.  “They’d have to lock me up to keep me away, and then I’ll just break out and show up anyway.”

The lump was back.  Phil had done so much bad in his life, he just wasn’t at all sure how he’d gained the love and respect and trust of _anyone_. 

“And I can testify about what happened with Hydra,” Clint said.  “My endorsement won’t mean much, but you have it.”

“You are a lucky man, Phil,” Captain Harkness observed.

“And I don’t know how it happened,” the Void Wizard admitted.

“Look,” Clint tapped on Phil’s wrist, getting the Wizard to turn toward him, “even back in your most destructive days I knew there was more to you than that.  You proved it when you adopted Daisy and turned your life around.  Gods, Phil…you did everything you could to put all that shit behind you.  You are a truly good person, it’s just that circumstances caused you to lose yourself for a bit.”

Well, Phil had to reward that.

He grasped the back of the Elf’s neck, and pulled him into a kiss.  It wasn’t much, just a press of lips, but he tried to communicate everything he was feeling into it: just how much Clint meant to him, and what his words made him feel.  At the back of his mind was the consideration that, someday, he’d lose this, but was it really worth it to worry?

He leaned away reluctantly, ducking his head in embarrassment.  He just wasn’t used to such public displays; but then, the last time he’d taken any sort of lover had been years ago, and it hadn’t lasted long,  He and Audrey just hadn’t clicked, and that actually worked out for the best.  It had allowed him to give all his concentration to Daisy, getting her ready for school, and teaching her what he could before she left the nest.

Clint was blushing a little, the tips of his pointed ears pink.  Daisy poked him and cheered, “Way to go, Dad!”

He shook his head.  “And when am I going to meet this boyfriend of yours?”

His daughter gaped at him.  “What…?  Boyfriend?”

“Please, I’m your father.  Of course I know you have a boyfriend.”  He didn’t add that he’d heard it from Pepper; he didn’t want to give away his prime source of information where Daisy was concerned when she was away at school.

Daisy was spluttering as if she couldn’t make up her mind how to react.  Phil’s job was done.

He turned back to Grand Master Ianto.  “So, what exactly what do you need for me to do?”

 

 

 


	27. Chapter 27

 

The Quorum House was in Gateway – because of course it was, since that was where pretty much everything regarding magic began when magic had returned to the world – and Pepper had always thought the building extremely gauche.  It had once been the original Baronial residence, dating back from the rebuilding of the city, but that first Baron, Dafydd Jones, had given up the place almost immediately, moving into the Wizard’s Tower; he’d been a Cardinal Wizard, and the current Grand Master’s cousin who had died without family and had named Ianto’s daughter his heir.  Eirlys had managed to gain her own heirs the old-fashioned way, by getting married and carrying them herself.

Unlike her fathers, who’d used magic to conceive.  Eirlys was the first and only child born of two men in the entire world.

The residence had been remodeled to include the large chamber where the Wizards of all three Orders met.  The entire Quorum wasn’t often called, but this was an issue that needed a consensus.  It was a risk airing Hydra’s plot out to everyone who could be gathered at such short notice, simply because they still didn’t know if anyone else was involved, but they needed to move quickly in getting Pierce and Malick replaced.  The Void Order couldn’t remain leaderless for long.

The meeting chamber took up the entire rear of the House.  It had been built to resemble a traditional amphitheater, rows of benches rising up around a central dais where three seats had been placed, one for each Grand Master.  It was all marble and gold and truly hideous…and she lived with Tony Stark, so she knew the meaning of the word.  This honestly put anything Tony had in his own home to shame.

Pepper made her way down toward the front of the chamber, where the benches for the various Heads of Order would sit.  There were six benches, one for each region of the world, the seats for the Western Lands to the right of the ones for the United Kingdom, which now included the Kingdom of Albion now that they’d accepted magic after several decades of bloody purges.

To the left were the benches for the Eastern Empires.  Pepper had never been there, but she was on a first-name basis with the Heads of Order, as she was with the rest, and she quite liked them.  But then, Pepper did try to get along with everyone, until they proved to be idiots.

She wasn’t always disappointed, but it _did_ happen. 

Radiating outward from the six benches were the seats for the Masters and, in descending order of education, beyond those were the newly-minted junior Masters, and finally the Novices.  The Novices were just a rank higher from regular students, having been chosen by a teaching Master for more advanced lessons, and didn’t get any sort of vote in the Quorum even though they were always required to attend.  Ostensibly it was to prepare them for the time when they would be a part of the process.  Regular students, of course, did not attend, as they were considered too immature.  Pepper could absolutely agree. Sometimes it was hard enough to get the Novices to cooperate.  If students were involved nothing would ever get done.

As her eyes scanned the crowd she could see Novices Jemma and Leo, in a group with Daisy and two other young men; Pepper recognized them as Antoine Triplett and Lincoln Campbell.  She couldn’t help but smile, as this was the perfect example of all three Orders getting along.  Hopefully, someday, that would be the norm instead of the exception.

Dragons didn’t often come to the Quorum, as the less-well trained ones tended to be a distraction.  Which was why there was a single large room connecting to the hallway outside the chamber for the obligatory dragon piles, where the familiars could wait in comfort while their Wizards were busy being pedantic, which was an excellent way to describe their meetings.  Pepper always thought that was just adorable, but necessary.  Dragons did tend to get bored, so giving them their own place was only the smart thing to do.  There were also times when a Wizard would get…overwrought, as it were, and the dragon would break into the chamber in their defense, but that was pretty unusual. 

A single chime sounded within the chamber, signaling the beginning of the Quorum.  People starting filing toward their seats.  Mistress Maria joined her, face stern and unyielding, and Pepper knew she wasn’t at all happy with what was going to happen today.

She just didn’t understand the Great Wizard’s hostility toward Phil.  Alright, that wasn’t exactly true, because she was very much aware of Phil’s past misdeeds.  But he’d proven himself, at least in everyone else’s eyes, so Pepper wasn’t at all sure why Mistress Maria was holding out.  It had most likely to do with her beliefs about Voids and Cardinals, and the fact that there didn’t seem to be any consequences for what the Dark One had done. Why didn’t she understand that Phil had been punishing himself all these years since he’d reformed?

And why couldn’t Mistress Maria grasp that what was going on with Phil now was also a form of punishment?

If what everyone thought was true, then Phil was about to live forever, and he hadn’t done anything to cause it.  The Void had chosen him for some sort of reason…and Pepper suspected it was because of those very early misdeeds that the magic was also punishing him.  He’d been killed, and then sent back by the Void, and now he was being forced into becoming the balance to Ianto.  However, while Ianto had someone to be with for _his_ eternity, Phil would lose everyone.  Even Clint, eventually, although the Elf would live a lot longer than a human.  Daisy would be gone as well, and Phil would lose the daughter he loved more than anything.

It wasn’t fair. 

But it was what the universe had decreed for him.

And  Pepper would try to be the best friend she could.

Once everyone was settled, Ianto and Stephen made their appearance.  Stephen took the center chair on the dais, while Ianto took the one on the right; the left-hand one remained empty, and would until a new Grand Master of Voids was appointed.

She really, really hoped it was going to be Phil on that seat.

Stephen called the Quorum to order.  “I’m sure by now,” he began, his voice carrying to every corner of the chamber, the acoustics in the hall perfectly balanced, “you’ve heard the rumors swirling around about Grand Master Alexander Pierce and Master Gideon Malick.  As you can see,” he waved toward the empty seat next to him, and then toward Pepper and Mistress Maria, “both men are conspicuous by their absence.  We have called this Quorum to set the record straight.  Both Grand Master Ianto and myself have been aware of what was happening almost from the beginning, and will call on the help of witnesses throughout these proceedings.  We will have them speak, then we will accept any questions you may have.”

There was a soft murmur throughout the room, as Stephen rose from his chair.  “I would like to invite our first witness to come forward.”

Pepper knew that would be Phil, even before the Wizard appeared in her peripheral vision.  He was dressed somberly, with black overtunic and trousers, and a deep blue undertunic that had silver embroidery at cuffs and high collar.  She could recognize the runes within the filigree, which meant there was magic woven within the threads…but then, that would have been expected in a higher-level Wizard of any order.

His face was calm, and he bowed to Stephen formally, coming to stand just a single step down from the Great Wizard.  He turned, facing the crowd, and anyone not familiar with him would have thought he was perfectly collected standing there.  Pepper knew better, though; knew that he was unsettled by the attention by the twitching of his fingers, and what reaction he was going to get from  what he was about to say.

“For the record,” Stephen said, “please state your name and affiliation.”

“Phillip Coulson.  Master Wizard, Void Order.”

“Thank you, Master Phillip. Please, start at the beginning.”

Phil’s words were composed and measured as he explained being approached by John Garrett about joining the cabal known as Hydra.  He very carefully left out the threat of blackmail over his past; Pepper knew that it had been decided between Phil and the two Grand Masters to leave the Dark One out of it for now.  They were hoping it wouldn’t come up, but Pepper doubted they would be so lucky, especially when Ianto and Stephen put Phil up for the vacant Grand Master seat.  At the very least, they were expecting Mistress Maria to speak up.  After all, she’d made her opinion perfectly clear.  And if not her, then there was the very real possibility that Pierce still  had someone within the Quorum, and that he would have instructed that person to spill Phil’s secrets if something ever happened. 

When he got to the part where Garrett revealed their plan, the uproar echoed around Pepper like a storm front; up until that moment, it had been so silent a pin dropping could have been heard, as the gathering listened, rapt, to Phil’s story.  The Void Wizard, back straight, stood and waited for the noise to die back down, and then he continued.

Pepper had heard it before, but it still struck her painfully.  That these Wizards could have done what they had, in an attempt to do the impossible, it would have bordered on the absurd if it wasn’t for the horror of it all.  The steady tone of Phil’s words somehow made it worse, if that was possible.

There was another roar of outrage when Phil named the Void Wizards involved, as well as their Novices.  They had to have friends among the gathered Wizards, and the shock of knowing that there were those among them that would have concocted such a plan, it didn’t seem real. 

He described the struggle, and Novice Raina’s hypnotic voice, and then the Vibranium chain that had killed him.  Only then did his voice falter, because he was admitting that he’d died…and yet, he was standing there, explaining events, and Pepper was quite surprised there wasn’t yet another outburst from the other Wizards when he spoke of dying, and then coming back to life, explaining the Void and that it had been the one to send him back.  That the Void had done what those rogue Wizards had not – although it wasn’t a Void version of the Deathless it had created. 

It was a Void counterpart to Grand Master Ianto.

Perhaps it was because each and every one of the people in this chamber had been raised with the balance.  It was _the_ primary lesson given to everyone, but to a Wizard it wasn’t just an abstract; it was a very real thing.  They lived and died by the balance between Void and Cardinal, the Greats balancing the two other Orders as if dancing on the edge of a two-headed coin, with one head the light and the other the dark.  Life and Death.  It was a part of their lives, as a Wizard.

It was what had caused the Great Order to believe themselves just that much better than the other orders.  It didn’t help that they outnumbered the Voids and Cardinals two to one.

Phil finished the story with the closing of the Void Point, and the reason it had been necessary.  He left out finding Sir Steven within the Void, simply because none of them had any idea what that actually meant as yet, and even if the Paladin would wake up.  Tony had called in someone to help but, while Doctor Bruce Banner was a gifted physician and magical theorist, the Cardinal Wizard wasn’t sure that was what was needed.  Pepper thought they needed someone with knowledge of the Void…like Phil.  However, this hadn’t been the time to burden her friend with just one more thing.  He had enough to deal with.

There was a hushed murmur through the Quorum, this time Pepper was certain it was more from the Voids than the other orders.  What Phil had just claimed meant that he was literally the most powerful Wizard of the Voids, and it wasn’t because he’d somehow been chosen to become immortal; it was because he had that power, to control the Void so completely that he could affect a Void Point to the extreme of closing the crack in the walls of the world forever.  No one else could do that.  It was a challenge to the others of Void Order that they couldn’t possibly meet.  It was a sound of awe and jealousy and wonder.  And it had been accomplished by a man no one had really ever given a second glance at, because Phil hadn’t wanted anyone to notice him, to even consider him as someone important.

Those days were over now.

When the story was complete, the silence in the room was nearly stifling.  Stephen once again stood, thanked Phil for his service, and then dismissed him.  It was a sign that everyone’s shock was total in that no one attempted to stop him from going back to his seat by demanding answers to the questions Pepper knew they had to have.  She could pretty much guarantee that, once that shock was over, the questions would come.

One by one, witnesses came forward to tell their stories.  Baron Nicholas was next, recounting how Phil had contacted him immediately after Garrett had left, to inform him of Hydra, and of his actions afterward.  Clint testified to his part in events; Natasha did not, but then she was still out there, trying to find leads to the missing Hydra cabal members. 

Then, Daisy stood in front of the Quorum.

She seemed to have learned her composure from her father, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t emotional.  She described being kidnapped, awakening with her magic suppressed by the power of the Void Point.  She talked about her escape, naming the Winter Knight as the one who was her guard after that attempt.  When she got to the point where she’d seen her Dad, dead, that was when she lost whatever control she had, tears running down her face.  Pepper stood and passed over a handkerchief, which the young woman accepted gratefully, wiping her eyes.

Daisy finished with the Void Point and the teleport back to the Keep.  This time it was Ianto who did the thanking, dismissing her from testifying.

With her leaving the dais, Ianto stood, his turn to address the Quorum.  They’d decided that Pepper wouldn’t testify, mainly because she’d seen much of what the others had reported, and if anyone had questions about her involvement they would be answered once the Grand Masters called for any.

“You have heard the witnesses,” the Grand Cardinal Wizard said.  “Does anyone have something they would like to ask them, to clarify their evidence for you?”

There were no questions.  Really, there couldn’t be any, not about the case at least.  The evidence was incontrovertible.

“We seem to have a rot within our ranks,” his soft accent making his words sound even more grave than they normally would have.  “This cabal attempted to do something that they had no right to: to create something that only the universe could create.  With that goal in mind, they attempted to coerce one of our most powerful members into doing their bidding by kidnapping his daughter.  They managed to _murder_ him using a metal that has been banned in every country in the world.  It had the effect of proving that the balance has already been corrected, but it could have ended so much worse.  These are deeds we cannot ignore.  I hereby call the vote to expel those members of the Wizard Orders who have become Hydra and to join forces to bring them to justice.”

Stephen stood.

Pepper was on her feet before she could even register it, but then her vote had really been a foregone conclusion.

In the end, there was only one way the vote could have gone.

 

 


	28. Chapter 28

 

Maria fidgeted, itchy in a way that felt like ants crawling along her skin.

She’d had a chance to read Master’ John’s journal, and had been struck by the basic truths it had held.  He’d once been in the same position she found herself in: thinking that the Cardinals and Voids were doing something wrong when they used other forces besides just magic to work their spells.  He’d been quite adamant about that. 

But he’d come to change his mind over a decade of being friends with Grand Master Ianto Jones and the Deathless, Captain Jack Harkness.  He’d also written about conversations he’d had with the Avatar of Gateway, as well as Void and Cardinal students he’d had the pleasure of knowing.  He’d seen first-hand that the Great Wizards had gotten it all wrong, and he’d apologized for his attitude over it. 

Maria could see the points he’d made.  She could also see why her order had destroyed whatever copies they could find, as it went against the old scrolls that they’d recovered from the Torchwood Archive, and from other sources.  All of that knowledge…so very wrong. 

However, she could see how it had happened.  By the time many of those treatises had been written, Cardinals and Voids no longer existed.  The Great Order had done their best to help their dying out.  Oh, it had been a rather bloodless coup, but it had still occurred, and the Greats had taken full advantage of the situation by painting Cardinals and Voids both with the same brush of sacrilege. 

It had given her a lot to think about.

Now, what was bothering her was the Quorum.

In a lot of ways, what Hydra had perpetrated had done damage to what the Grand Masters had tried to fix.  Maria could see it.  They’d gone off on their own and had practically lived down to the reputation that had been forced upon them by the Greats.  She had to wonder if they would have done it if there had been more of a level attitude between the orders.  Would they have even considered kidnapping and what amounted to murder to get what they’d wanted if that sort of reputation hadn’t already existed?

She thought they might never know.

But, the Quorum.

It all had to come out.  There wasn’t a choice, not if they wanted to clear away the rot within the orders.  Still, Maria wished it could have been kept a little quieter.  Even though it had been several Voids behind the plot, it made every Wizard look bad.  It needed to be exposed, and this was the best way to do it.  Rumor had already gotten a head start, and what her fellows had been assuming was, in ways, far worse than what had actually occurred.  That sort of thing needed to be nipped in the bud before it tore a rift through the entire Wizard community.

Well, more of one at any rate.

Also, she still wasn’t sure of Master Phil Coulson.

He’d been succinct when giving evidence, but he hadn’t said a thing about being the Dark One.  That didn’t surprise her one bit; that wasn’t the sort of thing that needed to be revealed now, it would have simply muddied the waters even more.  Still, it would get out. That the primary witness in this case had been one of the worst of their number, and Maria had no idea what sort of ramifications that would bring. 

It didn’t stop her from voting for the immediate repudiation of all the known Voids involved with Hydra.

It was unanimous.

That wasn’t a surprise.

The Wizard Guild took such things seriously.  They had to police their own.  Each and every one of them had more power than normal people and there was always the chance of misusing that power.

Prime example…the Dark One.

Nick had informed her of all the details about Buda-Pest.  They’d all done the right thing in that circumstance, even if Maria didn’t agree with the horrendous loss of life.  Guilty life, but it was still life, and many of those the Dark One, Marcus Johnson, the Hawk and the Widow had taken down should have been brought to the courts for justice.  She’d said as much, and Nick had simply shaken his head and pointed out to her that, sometimes, the justice system was just as corrupt as the criminals that escaped it, and then things had to be done differently.  Perhaps so, but Maria still believed that they could have done things differently, even if she completely believed it all.

Nick had also pointed out that she hadn’t been there, hadn’t seen it, and to get off her ‘damned high horse and to at least try to understand’.

That had led to such a row that she hadn’t been back to Triskelia since.

Still, in the four days since Hydra had emerged, Maria had been busy…and taking a second look at her preconceived notions about her fellow Wizards.  She’d vowed to start changing some of her learned attitudes, but it wasn’t going to happen overnight.  There was just too many ingrained prejudices to get through, and that was _without_ the stress of the Quorum.

Once everyone had regained their seats after the vote, both Grand Masters remained on their feet.  Grand Master Stephen leaned over and said something in the Cardinal Grand Master’s ear; the man nodded, stepping to the front of the dais.  His eyes looked out over the Quorum, and Maria actually missed Grand Master Stephen returning to his seat, so caught up was she in Grand Master Ianto’s gaze, calmly staring over at the gathered Wizards.

“The proclamation will be sent out, outlawing this Hydra cabal and putting their members on the wanted lists of every Barony, Kingdom, and Country in the world,” Grand Master Ianto said. “However, this criminal action has left Void Order without proper leadership, and now that you have the majority of your members here, you should consider who you would want as your new Grand Master.  As we are not Void, Grand Master Stephen and myself will recuse ourselves from your deliberations; however, if you would seek advice or answers to questions you may have, we will make ourselves available to you.  Also, the other Orders will stand down from this, because this should be your decision alone.  However, please be wary…we don’t have any real idea just how far this conspiracy goes.  There could be Hydra members we don’t know anything about as yet. Elect someone you trust implicitly.”  He bowed to the Void section of the Quorum.  “Thank you all for your service.  Grand Master Stephen and I abide by whatever your decision will be, and will support your choice.”  With that, he went back to his chair, settling into it comfortably.

Leaving the Voids to converse amongst themselves.

Someone had thoughtfully put up a Privacy spell, one that wouldn’t allow any of the two other Orders to eavesdrop.  Not that Maria would; whoever they chose wasn’t any of her business.  Still, she was glad that the two Grand Masters had left the Voids to handle the nomination; their choice was far too obvious. 

She was hoping the Voids who were currently conferring would choose someone other than Master Phil Coulson.

“You do realize there isn’t really anyone else they could choose,” Mistress Pepper whispered, startling Maria out of her thoughts.

She turned to regard the other Head of Order.  She’d been expecting Mistress Pepper to look smug, that her choice for Head of Void Order would mostly likely be the one they nominated.  Instead, the other woman looked resigned, as if she really didn’t want them to pick Master Phil, either.

“He doesn’t want it,” the Cardinal Head went on, “he just wants to go home with Daisy and Clint.  But, he understands that it’s his duty at the moment, and he’ll accept, but he’ll put a caveat on his acceptance that a new Grand Master be chosen as soon as Hydra has been cleared from their order.”  She gave Maria a small smile.  “He’s not as power-mad as I believe you think he is.”

“I never said he was power-mad.”  She hadn’t, not in so many words.  “I’m just saying he shouldn’t be rewarded for getting us the information on Hydra.”

“That’s just it…he doesn’t see it as being rewarded.  He sees it as just one more punishment, one more thing he has to do in order to make up for his past.”

Maria glanced over at the Voids, seeking one among them.  She located Master Phil easily, standing straight, his arms across his chest almost defensively, as he was obviously arguing with several Voids who were confronting him. 

As she watched, his shoulders slumped, and his expression turned from serious to resigned, and he nodded his head, speaking to the group who had apparently just nominated him. 

He certainly didn’t look like someone who wanted the power he was being handed.

But, just how good an actor was he?

“Not that good,” Mistress Pepper said, when Maria raised that very question.  “He’s quite the horrible liar, according to the Hawk.  Really, he hasn’t had much of an opportunity for it, if you think about it.  He’s been Master Phil for over a decade.  He got out of practice.”

One of the Voids – Maria recognized her as Mistress Elena Rodriguez, the Head of Order for the Southern Confederacies – waved her hand, and the Privacy spell fell, a sign that their conference was complete.  One of the Voids, obviously a Novice judging how young he was, glanced toward someone on the Cardinal side and gave a surreptitious thumb raise. 

A Void with a friend on the Cardinal side…Maria had to wonder if this was one of Daisy Coulson’s friends.  A look in that direction confirmed it; Daisy had a bright smile on her face, which she stifled as soon as she noticed Maria’s eyes on her.  Instead, she glared, and the Great Wizard stiffened at her obvious disrespect.

She turned away, and Mistress Pepper was shaking her head.  “Is it any wonder Daisy’s upset with you?  I’m sure it’s gotten back to her by now just how you feel about her father.  She’s going to be bothered by that.”

Alright, she did have a point.  Maria would have been pissed if someone had been said anything against her own father.  But the difference was, Phil Coulson was technically a wanted criminal  and Maria’s Dad was a decorated Naval officer.

“We’ve come to a consensus,” Mistress Elena spoke, hushing the last of the conversations going on in the Quorum hall, her accent sharp but her words clear.

Both Grand Masters stood.  “And what have you decided?” Grand Master Stephen asked.

“We have nominated Master Phillip Coulson as the new Void Grand Master, although he has said he –”

“Stop!” a sudden shout came from the back of the hall.

That had everyone either standing, or craning their heads in the direction of the voice.  Maria saw a young man, a student not yet old enough for an individual teaching Master, by one of the doors leading out of the chamber, being manhandled by one of the ushers who guarded the ways into the Quorum when they were in session.  He had light brown hair, and was dressed in head to toe black, but…the Great Wizard frowned.  She wasn’t getting any sort of magical signature from him.

He wasn’t a Wizard.

How did he even get into the chamber, if he wasn’t a Wizard?

“Bring him forward,” Grand Master Ianto commanded the usher, who grabbed the young man by the elbow and led him down toward the dais.  The boy came willingly, his pale eyes fiercely angry in what Maria thought was a slightly weaselly face.  “And who are you to interrupt the Quorum?” he demanded as soon as the intruder was at the steps leading up to the dais.

The youngster shrugged his arm out of the usher’s grasp, then haughtily meet the Grand Master’s eyes, his back straight and his face proud.  “I am Werner von Strucker,” he announced, as if that name meant something, “and I’ve come to denounce the so-called Master Phillip Coulson as being the Void Wizard known as the Dark One.”

 

 


	29. Chapter 29

 

Daisy was on her feet in a heartbeat, panic clawing out of her chest as the stranger calmly told everyone in the room just who her Dad really was.

Sure, they’d all thought this would happen, the moment that Dad was confirmed as the new Grand Master of Voids.  Grand Master Ianto had thought it would be a previously unknown Hydra member would pop up and blurt it out for everyone to hear, but this…where had this kid come from?  Because it was obvious he wasn’t a Wizard, and non-Wizards weren’t allowed in Quorum unless they were called as witnesses for something.  And this kid hadn’t been officially called for anything.

The chamber erupted into chaos at Werner von Strucker’s accusation.  Grand Master Ianto was trying to call for calm, while Grand Master Stephen had motioned another of the ushers forward, and was whispering something in the woman’s ear.  The usher nodded and withdrew and, while Daisy was certain that both of them would uphold their word about vouching for her Dad, her imagination couldn’t help but throw up the notion that the usher was going for the guards in order to take her Dad into custody.

“CAN I HAVE QUIET, PLEASE!”  Grand Master Ianto’s voice, enhanced by magic, rolled over the noise that had made the room almost intolerable to stand in.  It instantly went quiet, almost as if he’d cast a Silence spell as well, although no such magic had been used.  She didn’t doubt that Ianto had had such a spell ready to use if it had been needed.

“Thank you,” he said, his face like thunder.  “We are Wizards, and we will remain calm in the face of this accusation.”  His attention went back to the kid who was standing there as if he really enjoyed the mess he’d just caused.  “Now, perhaps we can get the evidence on which this has been based?”  His eyes turned toward the Void section of the Quorum.  “Master Phillip, would you please join us?”

“Of course.”  Her Dad left his seat, walking down the steps toward the dais.  “I am at your disposal, Grand Master,” he said, bowing slightly toward Ianto and then Grand Master Stephen, once he was at the foot of the risen section of floor.

“Thank you.  Now,” once again his eyes were on Werner von Strucker, “perhaps you’d care to share what evidence you have?”

“My father was King Wolfgang of Buda-Pest,” the young man began.  “And the Dark One murdered him.”

Muttering arose in the chamber.  Daisy’s heart thundered painfully in her breast.  Who could have foreseen _this_ happening?  And where had von Strucker come from?  How had he gotten into the Quorum chamber?

The thing was, no one besides a very select few knew that had really happened in Buda-Pest, and there were only four eyewitnesses that she knew of.  King Wolfgang hadn’t been a good man at all, stealing magical children and torturing them for their abilities.  Yes, her Dad had been an evil bastard back then, but he’d said that children were a completely different matter entirely, and that he would never deliberately harm one. 

Even in his Dark One’s heyday, he’d had a certain morality in his actions.

“And you say that Master Phillip is the Dark One?” The woman who’d announced Dad’s nomination spoke,  voice harsh, and she was staring at Daisy’s Dad as if she wanted to curse him where he stood.  He stood up to her scrutiny, although Daisy could tell just how upset he was in the set of his shoulders. She knew he wasn’t going to back down from this.

“And what do you say, Master Phillip?” Grand Master Stephen prompted.

Her Dad stood there, his gaze on Werner von Strucker’s, and even from where Daisy was standing she could see the anger in them. 

And the resignation.

He’d been prepared to be outed as the Dark One.  This wasn’t even one of the ways it would have occurred that they’d discussed, one that they could have prepared for.  After all, who could have foreseen that some stranger would just show up?  Especially one that wasn’t even a Wizard, so he shouldn’t have been able to enter the Quorum at all?  It had to have been the biggest shock her Dad had ever had, when this asshole had shown up out of the blue.

Her Dad drew himself up, not in pride but in preparation for the hate that was going to be thrown in his direction, and said, “Mister von Strucker is correct.  I _was_ the Dark One.”

Instead of the uproar Daisy had been expecting, the room was eerily silent.

Several of the Masters of Void were approaching Daisy’s Dad, and she knew she just couldn’t sit there, despite the promise she’d made back home, when they’d talked about what would happen at the Quorum.  She was out of her seat and running down the steps, to put herself between Dad and the others who were pretty much stalking him. 

“Daisy,” he cautioned her.

“No, Dad,” she spoke over her shoulder, holding up her gauntleted hands toward the approaching Wizards, who’d all stopped moving closer.  “I’m not going to let them hurt you.”

“Novice Daisy,” one of the Voids spoke, the man’s voice sharp with disapproval.

“He’s my Dad,” she talked right over the man, “and I’ll protect him with every breath I have.  You don’t know anything about what happened, and you’re all acting like you’ve already judged him.”

“She’s right!”

Daisy didn’t turn, but she couldn’t help the smile as Jemma stepped up beside her, Leo with her, followed by Trip and Lincoln.

“Master Phil might’ve been the Dark One in the past,” Jemma continued stoutly.

“But that was a long time ago,” Leo piped up.

“He’s a great guy,” Trip added.

“And we’re all going to defend him,” Lincoln finished.  “Even if he decides I can’t date Daisy.”

Daisy heard her Dad huff a quiet laugh.  “You must be Lincoln.”

“Yes, Sir.” To Lincoln’s credit, he didn’t sound all that nervous, but then he was facing toward the gathered Voids and not her Dad.

“You’re more than welcome to date my daughter.” Dad sounded amused, which was a good thing.  Daisy wanted to smile at that, because it meant he’d accepted Lincoln, although he hadn’t met her boyfriend yet.

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Can we talk about this later?” Daisy asked, although she couldn’t help but be pleased. “Like, after we’ve got this all cleared up?”

“Stand aside, Novices,” the woman who’d wanted to announce her Dad as Grand Master ordered.  “This man is a criminal and must be tried for his crimes.”

“You don’t even know what really happened in Buda-Pest,” Daisy accused.  “You’re all ready to condemn him without getting to the truth.”

“Novice Daisy is quite right,” Ianto spoke up mildly.  “How about we call calm down and we’ll get to the bottom of things.”

“Master Phillip Coulson is now officially under my protection,” Grand Master Stephen spoke up, the power in his words palpable in the air.  “Anyone who touches him will have to answer to me.”

“And to me,” Ianto added, his announcement adding to the magic that curled about the dais.

“And me.”  It was Mistress Pepper.  “Master Phil Coulson is a good man, and I will not see him injured because there are those among us who cannot control their emotions.”

“Me as well,” Master Mack’s deep voice joined in on the chorus.  Jemma and Leo both were grinning, happy that their teaching Master was also on Dad’s side.

The Voids all looked various degrees of confused.  “You are all defending the Dark One?” the woman demanded.

“There’s more to this story than you know, Mistress Elena,” Ianto told her. 

Her eyes narrowed.  “Did you know about this…Wizard…being the Dark One?”

“I did.”

Why that should have caused the shouting it did, Daisy didn’t know, but she guessed it had to do with Ianto keeping secrets from everyone and not taking Dad into custody himself.  All that she _did_ know for certain, was that these Voids were threatening her Dad, and while she wasn’t a Master she was going to use every bit of magic she had to defend him.

“And you were willing to trust him with testifying against members of our own order?” Mistress Elena demanded, once the noise had died down.

“Everything I’ve said is true,” Dad spoke up.  “The reason Garrett came to me was that they found out who I was, and he threatened blackmail to get me to do what they wanted.  I didn’t care about that, and informed Baron Nicholas immediately.  As my benefactor, he was the one I trusted to go to about this.”

“He murdered my father!” von Strucker spat.  “I demand justice!”

“You do not have the right to demand any sort of justice!”

It was another voice, this one female, and it was coming from yet another door, this one near the actual dais.  Daisy didn’t want to halve her attention, but she couldn’t help but glance over to see who was talking.

It was a girl, a little older than von Strucker, with auburn hair and dressed all in shades of red.  A boy the same age as the girl was beside her, and looked enough like her to be some sort of relative, despite his silver-white hair.  They were both students; the girl, Void; and the boy, Cardinal…which Daisy understood was very rare, since magic followed along family lines, and children from the same parents would hardly ever show as different orders. 

“Please come forward,” Grand Master Stephen invited the pair.  They did so, the boy acting a little skittish while the girl looked like she was ready to kick all sorts of ass.  Daisy thought she might like these two.

Ianto was giving the Grand Master of Great Order a single eyebrow, so this was something that had been planned without his knowledge…whatever _this_ was.  Daisy couldn’t understand why these two kids were important to events, but she trusted Grand Master Stephen so she’d just wait and see.

And keep a wary eye on the Voids after her Dad, of course.

 

 


	30. Chapter 30

 

To say that the way things had been revealed had been a shock was an understatement.

When they’d discussed this before the Quorum, Phil had been certain that it would have been one of Pierce’s Hydra people who would have revealed his identity.  He’d been prepared for that, been waiting for it, and instead Wolfgang von Strucker’s _son_ had shown up.

Still, it was obvious this was something that Pierce had arranged.  The boy wasn’t a Wizard, and someone had to have gotten him into the chamber and past the wards and seals that kept non-Guild people out while the Quorum was in session.  Only someone with their own access would have been able to let his accuser in.

Hells, he hadn’t even been aware that Wolfgang had _had_ a son.

After everything Phil had done, he was getting called down for one of the very few things he’d done _right_ in his career as the Dark One.  It really was quite ironic.

Still, a part of him was glad this was out in the open.  He’d talked to Clint about it, tired of hiding who he was and just wanting to live his life.  Perhaps it really was time that he was punished for his crimes.  His only regrets were that he wouldn’t be able to see Daisy get her Master’s certificate, and he wouldn’t have the chance to eventually marry Clint.

Daisy running to his defense was, of course,  totally expected.  Phil had been waiting for it, because as much as he loved her, she loved him back, and would do anything within her power to protect him.  Not that she’d stand much of a chance against fully trained Master Voids, but Phil knew she’d do her best. 

He also wasn’t overly shocked about Jemma and Leo, since they’d been involved in things almost from the beginning.  They’d also heard the story of what had occurred in Buda-Pest, and had already pledged their support to him, no matter what.  He wished he’d been able to talk them out of it; it was going to be bad enough that Daisy would most likely be sanctioned in some way.  To have anyone else be punished… Phil didn’t want that.

And that also included Trip and the other young man, who was apparently Lincoln, Daisy’s boyfriend.  He was actually quite pleased that he’d joined them in their defense; it showed his true character as someone who cared, and would do what he believed was right.

All of his daughter’s friends were willing to stand up for him, if no one else was going to.

Not that that would happen, not that they would be the only ones. 

Marcus and Clint weren’t in the room, since they’d been witnesses and were not members of the Quorum, but he just knew that both of them would be there the moment they could find a way past the magically sealed doors.  Pepper standing up, as well as Ianto and Grand Master Stephen, that wasn’t a surprise, either.  However, the teaching Master Phil didn’t know…how had he become involved in all this?  From the happy smiles Jemma and Leo were giving him, the Wizard had a feeling they knew who he was and were pleased he’d come forward. 

The two young Wizards who had interrupted the proceedings were a puzzle, however. 

It was obvious that Grand Master Stephen knew who they were.  Phil could tell that the girl was a Void Wizard, while her brother – they were clearly related – was a Cardinal…something that just didn’t happen.  Wizards followed along family lines, and siblings who were Wizards always were of the same order.  He was curious to know exactly who they were, and just why they were there.

The pair made their way to the dais, the girl blatantly ignoring young von Strucker while the boy gave him such a look of hatred that his accuser took a step away as they passed.  They each regarded Phil, and the girl took a step toward him, and then stopped, regaining the decorum she’d pulled about her as they’d been summoned forward.

“Will you please state your names?” Grand Master Stephen requested.

“I am Wanda Maximoff,” the young lady answered, in an accent that Phil recognized as being from the Middle Kingdoms, “and I am a student Void Wizard.”

“And I am her twin brother, Pietro,” the boy followed, “I’m a Cardinal student.”

There was another murmur from the gathered Wizards.  Phil could understand it.  Twins…one a Cardinal, and the other a Void…that was completely unheard of.  Something was niggling at the back of his mind at that revelation, but he couldn’t get it come forward.

Grand Master Stephen greeted them with a smile.  “Please, tell us your story.”

Both children turned to face the gathered Wizards.  Wanda must have taken on the spokesperson duties for the pair, because she began, “We are from the Barony Sokovia.  Some of what I am about to tell neither I nor my brother remember clearly, being as we were three at the time, but our mother explained it to us later.  One day, a man came to our village, claiming to be a Wizard who was testing for magical abilities.  Pietro and I…intrigued him, as we are twins yet do not have the same magic.  He told our parents that we were special, and that we should be taken to the Wizard School as soon as possible.”

In that moment, Phil knew exactly where this story was going to go, and his heart began to pound against his ribs, in horror and sadness for these two children.

Sokovia bordered the Kingdom of Buda-Pest.

“Our parents believed him,” Pietro added.  “They did not see what was coming.”

“They had no idea that Wizard training did not start so early, we did not even have our dragons yet,” Wanda confirmed.  “So, we were taken from our home under false pretenses.  It…our first, solid memories were of torture.”

The uncomfortable shifting about the Quorum chamber accompanied Phil’s nod at Wanda’s story.  It was coming back to him, where he’d heard of the twins before, and while he was glad to see them doing so well now, he couldn’t help but mourn the childhood that had been stolen from them by a man whose only desire was power and he hadn’t cared how he achieved it.

“This has nothing to do with my claim for justice,” Werner von Strucker shouted, cutting Wanda off from her testimony. 

Both twins turned to glare at him.  Phil wondered if anyone else was noticing the furtive darting of von Strucker’s eyes as they refused to meet theirs. 

In that heartbeat, Phil wondered if he might just get out of this mess of his own making after all.

Apparently Grand Master Stephen had been making plans that no one had any idea of.  He had to have gone in search of someone who had been at Buda-Pest, who had first-hand knowledge of what the Dark One and his cohorts had done there.  It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, that the children he and the others had rescued were now Wizards in their own right, but it did. 

If he did get out of this, he was going to seek them all out and check on them.  He should have done it years ago.

“Be silent,” Wanda hissed.  Red, glowing energy began to form around her hands. Phil, reading the spell she was about to cast, needed to stop it before things got out of hand and she and her brother were dismissed without telling their story, let alone possibly face charges of using magic against a non-magical human without known and visible cause.

So, he stepped out from behind Daisy, who was still determined to protect him, and made his way to the girl, holding his hand out to her.  “Calm, Wanda,” he murmured.  “If you lose control now, no one will hear what you have to say, and he could get away with what he’s planning.”

Her dark eyes met his, wide in awe, and the magic slowly faded away.  “I apologize for my rashness,” she said to him directly, as if it was his good opinion that mattered above everyone else’s.

“No need,” he assured her.  “Just, please.  Tell everyone what happened to you.” He didn’t care if he was punished or not for his past deeds; these children needed to speak, to get the poison out of their systems, and he wanted to help them do that.  “And I should apologize for not checking on you all, after the fact.”

Not that he could have; Buda-Pest happened six months before Loki, and after that…well, he’d been declared dead.  Going back would have revealed his still being alive.  He should have done it anyway.

Pietro shook his head.  “You got us home.  That was enough.”

Phil couldn’t help the warm feeling of pride, close to what he’d always felt with Daisy.  These two had been through a hell of one man’s making, and had come out on the other side seemingly stronger than ever.

Wanda turned back to the waiting Wizards.  “It was not until later that Pietro and I discovered just who had taken us from our family…it was Wolfgang von Strucker, the so-called King of Buda-Pest.”

“Lies!” Werner von Strucker denied over the sounds of the Quorum reacting to that pronouncement. 

“No!” Pietro shouted over him.  “It was your father who kidnapped us away, to study our power.”

“He had this artifact,” Wanda continued, “one that he used for this testing.  It…hurt.  For some, it twisted magical powers beyond recognition.  There were fifteen of us alive when von Strucker was cast down, but there had been many more…who had been murdered by that bastard.”

The Wizard remembered that artifact.  He’d destroyed it, because there’d been something about it…it had been beyond this world, and Phil hadn’t trusted it, and the danger it had posed.  In a way, thinking back on it, it had reminded him of Loki’s spear, the one the mad Asgardian had killed him with. 

Maybe he should ask Marcus what had happened to that spear, for his own peace of mind.

“It was the Dark One who saved us all,” Pietro said, into the sudden silence.  “He came, with his companions, and together they cast down King Wolfgang and his corrupt government, and they set us free.”

“How old were you?” Grand Master Ianto’s voice was soft, as if he hadn’t wanted to disturb the heavy atmosphere that had descended over the Quorum.

“We were four,” Wanda answered solemnly.  “Many say that it is too young for us to remember, but we do.”

“Being the playthings of a psychotic bastard,” Pietro added, “made the memories stronger.”

“We were not there all that long,” Wanda said, “compared to others, but we were twins with opposite power and he wanted to discover how that worked.  We should not have been able to grow within the same womb, and yet we did.”

Phil couldn’t help the tears that prickled his eyes.  “I wish we’d gotten there sooner.”  It was one of his biggest regrets, that no one had heard anything about King Wolfgang and his experiments before the rumors had reached him and Marcus. 

He’d done some horrific things as the Dark One, but this…this, he was proud of, tearing down that castle with his magic and bringing those children to safety. 

Wanda stepped right up to him.  “But you came as soon as you could.”

And, with that, she threw her arms around him, her body wracking with the sobs that finally broke free.

Phil held onto her just as tightly, his own tears dripping into her hair.  Another set of arms wrapped around them both, and without looking the Wizard knew it was Pietro, joining his sister in their emotional reunion. 

Every single person in the room was silent, except for Wanda and Pietro…and Phil himself, although he wasn’t very loud compared to the twins.  It was incredible to him, that these two children had survived and were thriving there at the school, and he wanted to get to know them better, to hear what they’d done in the years they’d been free, for them to know Daisy and her friends and hopefully become their friends, as well. And he wanted to find the other children of Buda-Pest and see how they were faring.

It didn’t matter one bit what they did to him.  Not in that moment, not when he was holding two dear children who had been through so very much and who were coming to his defense. 

He couldn’t help but feel the shame as well, of his upbringing, and how his parents had managed to twist him, but Wolfgang von Strucker hadn’t managed to do the same to these two.  Circumstances were different, he knew that intellectually, but in his heart he knew he hadn’t been tortured and yet he’d turned so easily.

Suddenly, he could hear someone shouting, and without thinking Phil had both Wanda and Pietro behind him, his own magic rising within him, the Void coming at his unconscious call.  Werner von Strucker had pulled something from his pocket, the sick sensation of twisted Void magic making the Wizard’s gut churn as he raised his left arm, triggering his Shield spell from the enchanted bracer he wore under his tunic.  It snapped into life, blazing blue, and the Petrification spell that had been cast upon the simple stone von Strucker had aimed at him splattered against the shield, ricocheting away.

Without a single thought, Phil’s magic was protecting the innocents in the range of the mis-targeted spell, which included Daisy, her friends, Pepper, and the front row of Wizards, including the Voids who had shown such interest in taking him into custody. 

Von Strucker screamed as the magic he’d attempted to use on Phil was safely dispelled, but that wasn’t the reason for that noise…it was the arrow sticking out from the young man’s shoulder as von Strucker collapsed to the floor in agony. 

“So,” a very familiar voice drawled, “seems like we nearly missed all the fun.”

 

 


	31. Chapter 31

 

Clint wanted to be back in the Quorum chamber so badly, but didn’t dare break in, even if he could get past the wards that were protecting the inner chamber.

He wasn’t a Wizard, and once his testimony was complete, he’d been ushered back outside and into the antechamber, to cool his heels until whatever the hells was going to happen, did.  He absolutely hated waiting, but then Nick wasn’t any better, his pacing back and forth a sure sign of  his own irritation at being left out.

Jack, though, was leaning back in a seat, his ankles crossed, whistling tunelessly, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. 

Clint was a little jealous of his calm, but then he didn’t really have someone he cared about on the proverbial hot seat in that room, and the Elf did.

The Quorum chamber was sound-proofed, so there was no way of telling what was going on within.  That made it worse, because at least if there was yelling the Elf could run in to the rescue.  Sure, they’d gone through every scenario they could come up with that didn’t mean the shit couldn’t drop on them all at any moment. 

He had no idea how long they’d been waiting when one of the chamber ushers came racing out of the hall, the door closing behind her and magically resealing.

“What the fuck is going on?” Nick demanded, before the usher could leave the waiting room.

The woman didn’t respond.  Instead, she was out of the room like an arrow from a bow, leaving the three of them staring at each other in various shades of dismay.

“Well,” Jack said, “that didn’t look good.”

Clint was at the door, although he knew he’d never get inside.  Only Wizards were allowed, and that wasn’t what he was.  He was simply a really worried would-be lover, and that didn’t count with the Quorum.

Although, it was when Lola came flying into the room Clint _really_ got worried.

Dragons were always kept in a room off the meeting chamber, the better to keep distractions down to a minimum; at least, that was what Phil had said when they’d arrived earlier.  The dragons were usually alright with that, but from how Lola was acting…well, things weren’t going all that well.  Moments later, she was joined by Skye, and by the dragons belonging to Daisy’s friends Jemma and Leo…followed by a silver-blue one a little bigger than Mistress Pepper’s Happy and a green and brown dragon that looked as if it could take on a full-sized eagle and be just fine.   All six were upset, and not even falling into the usual dragon pile that occurs when more than one dragon was in the same room.  In fact, they weren’t even reacting to _his_ presence, which was saying something. 

No, something was definitely going on, and Clint wanted to know what it was.

And he wasn’t the only one.

“Can’t you do something, Harkness?” Nick demanded.

The Deathless snorted.  “Not a Wizard.”

“But you have all that magic in you…”

“Still not a Wizard.”  It was said sarcastically, but Clint could tell that Jack really wished he _could_ do something, although it wasn’t his husband on trial in there.

And yes, that was what Clint thought was going on.  Even if Phil wasn’t Clint’s husband…not yet, anyway.

Phil being outed as the Dark One had been a very real threat.  Who knew how many Hydra assholes were still out there, and who knew what Pierce had?  It was almost inevitable that someone would accuse Phil of being the Dark One.

Clint knew how Phil felt about that.  They’d talked, after everyone had left the Keep that day that the Wizard had awakened and all their options had been discussed.  Phil had confided in him that he was tired of hiding, of jumping at shadows and worrying when his secret would get out.  And how he really just wanted to get it all over with, so he could go on with his life and not have to look over his shoulder for anyone coming after him.  Even if it meant his arrest and imprisonment.

The Elf had called bullshit on that.  There was no way Phil was going to be getting out of the date he’d agreed to.

Nick began cursing quite fluently, some of the words in different languages, including Elven.  The former Marcus Johnson had always been a creative swearer, and this was putting all of that talent on display. Clint couldn’t blame him.  He felt the exact same way, and would have been cursing as well if Nick wasn’t doing such a good job of it.

Lola finally approached him, her distress evident in the whimpering noises she was making.  Clint knelt down so he could take her into his arms, wanting to comfort her as much as he needed the comfort.  Within moments Skye had joined them, alighting on Clint’s shoulder and wrapping her tail around the base of his throat.  The other dragons, strangers to him, didn’t come over, but that was fine.  The Elf was getting a bit too upset and having all those dragons around him would have stressed him out even more, which really said more about his state of mind than anything else.

What was going on?  Obviously, it was bad, if it was affecting the dragons like this.  They each had empathic links with their Wizards, and they were showing all the emotions that had to have been plaguing the people they were bonded with.  If so, it was getting ugly in there, and Clint wanted nothing more than to bust down that door, magic or no, and storm in there to the rescue. Putting arrows where they’d do the most good.

Not that Phil couldn’t take care of himself.  It was just that Clint was feeling damned helpless.

Pounding footsteps sounded from the corridor beyond, and before he could even react the usher was back, and trailing behind her were two very young Wizards, their dragons following just behind.  It was a boy and a girl, and the Elf barely had time to register their being there before the usher had the door open once more, and was motioning the pair inside, their dragons staying put at what to have been their mental direction but not looking happy about it. 

Clint was up and off the floor in a heartbeat, managing to get his foot into the gap of the closing door, keeping it open.  It would have slammed on it, if not for Jack, who grabbed the door in order to help to prevent it closing.  “Hold it,” the Deathless gritted.

Like Clint wasn’t going to do exactly that.

The magic was trying very hard to seal that door, and it was just distracting enough that Clint missed the beginning of whatever the hells was going on inside that chamber. 

Together, he and Jack managed to get the door open all the way, Nick helping as soon as he could get his own grip on it.  He could hear yelling going on, and even before they got the door wedged open – Nick using one of his many knives to do it – Clint had his bow up and an arrow on the string.

Someone was attacking Phil and the two youngsters who’d gone in, as well as Daisy and a group of kids who were looking like they were spoiling for a fight; two of them gathered around Phil were Jemma and Leo.

That explained all the distressed dragons.  

Phil had his shield up, and whatever spell the idiot attacking had used was ricocheting all over the place, but the Wizard had it well in hand, preventing the blocked magic from hitting anyone else.  The Elf knew that his soon-to-be lover could take care of things, but he sent an arrow into the antagonist’s shoulder anyway, just because.  He might have been a kid, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.

As he was falling, Clint couldn’t help himself from being an asshole so he called, “So, seems like we nearly missed all the fun.”

He _didn’t_ miss Phil rolling his eyes at him.  That just made him smirk a little more.

There was a sudden stampede of dragons into the room, each going to their Wizard to check if they were alright.  Lola actually made a chirping noise that sounded just like she was thanking Clint as she passed, joining Phil on the steps where he’d been standing, giving him all sorts of hell for what Clint had to assume was him getting into trouble without her.  Phil simply chuckled, took down his shield, and gave her the loving and reassurance she so obviously wanted despite her bitching.

The tableau before them really told the tale of what had been going on in the Quorum hall.  There were all those friends of Daisy’s, as well as Daisy herself, standing there as if they were about to kick all sorts of ass.  They must have been facing down a group of Void Masters, because there were five of them standing just to the side, the kids aimed in their direction, and Clint had to admire the sheer balls it would have taken to do something like that.  Not that he hadn’t expected something like that from Daisy Coulson, of course.

“Did you break that door?” Ianto inquired almost cheerfully even as he was motioning several ushers forward in order to clean up the bleeding mess of stupid on the floor.  Honestly, who in their right mind attacked a Wizard right on what was basically their home turf?

“Maybe,” Jack answered insouciantly, his blue cloak flapping about his legs in almost a parody of Grand Master Stephen’s magical one.  “Mind telling us what the hells is going on?”

“That,” Grand Master Stephen pointed to the attacker, who was now being manhandled up and away by two fairly burly ushers, “is the son of King Wolfgang of Buda-Pest.”

Well, fuck.  That was unexpected.

Clint hadn’t even known that Wolfgang had _had_ a kid.

“Well, fuck,” Nick unconsciously echoed Clint’s own thoughts, “I didn’t even know that bastard _had_ a kid.”

“Apparently,” the Great Grand Master said dryly, “no one else did, either.  However, there are some very serious questions about how he got within the chamber when he’s not any sort of Wizard.”

“Yeah, I doubt he broke a door like we did.”  Jack was being a jerk, at the same time the charm just oozed from every pore of his body.  It was amazing to watch.  Clint wanted to be Jack Harkness when he grew up.

“Don’t worry,” Ianto warned, “you’ll be paying for that.”

The Deathless shrugged.  Clint figured that threat really didn’t mean all that much to him, since he’d been around for centuries and, chances were, had amassed some sort of fortune over that period of time.

“Can we just assume this was a plant by Pierce and his Hydra cronies in case they failed to use Dad the way they wanted to?” Daisy spoke up.

“That may be,” a woman stepped into the conversation.  She was striking, clearly a Void Master, and from the Southern Confederacies, “but that still does not make his claims any less untrue.”

“Mistress Elena,” Phil said, “I’m perfectly willing to hold myself available for any judgement against me.”

Oh, no…screw _that_.

Everyone was looking at Clint, which meant he’d said that out loud.

The Void girl – the one who’d run into the room earlier – was staring at both Clint and Nick, in a way that said she somehow recognized them both.  Phil leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and the girl nodded.  She tugged on the sleeve of her other kid with her, who looked just enough like her to be somehow related, and he glanced down at her.  She shook her head slightly, and his eyes narrowed, but he must have agreed with what she’d told him silently.

Clint figured it was something along the lines of not giving him and Nick away as wherever it was they knew them from. 

Chances were, it was something from their mercenary past…most likely Buda-Pest, if they’d been called in to rebut whatever the hells von Strucker’s supposed son had said.

Which meant…oh Gods damnit.  These two had to have been little kids when Wolfgang got a hold of them.  The archer wanted to pull them both aside and ask if he was correct, but didn’t dare at the moment.  It would have to wait.

“That’s bullshit, Phil,” Nick spoke up, “and there’s no fucking way I’m letting anyone lock you up for something your stupid, immature ass did as a kid.”

“Well, technically…” Phil began.

Nick put a finger up to stop the nonsense that had been about to spew forth.

“Baron Nicholas,” Mistress Elena cut in, “Master Phillip has admitted that he is the Dark One – “

“The Dark One died about eleven years ago,” Nick pointed out.  “I was there.  I was a witness.  I watched as Loki pushed a Gods damned spear through the Dark One’s back and out through his chest.  I was the one who arranged to have his corpse laid out in the nearest morgue.  The Dark One is dead.”

Mistress Elena was staring at him.  So was Clint, because Nick just pretty much admitted that he’d known that Phil was the Dark One, and that he’d had something to do with his death.  Really, he should have just used the name, ‘Marcus Johnson’, and gotten it over with, because becoming a Master Wizard meant that whoever Mistress Elena was, she wasn’t stupid.

Phil looked as if he’d just had a question he’d been carrying around answered.  Probably the whole, ‘who took care of after I’d died’, question.

Ianto was also staring, but he had a smile on his face, as if he thoroughly approved of the message Nick was trying to convey.  Grand Master Stephen was shaking his head, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing because it wasn’t something he’d thought of himself.

Well, to be fair Clint hadn’t either, if where Nick was going with this was what he was suspecting.

“The Dark One died on that street eleven years ago,” Nick went on.  “And I wasn’t the only witness.  I think we can honestly say that he’s gone and not coming back.”

Jack was laughing.  But then, Nick had a point.  The Dark One had been stabbed by Loki.  Phil Coulson had arisen from the ashes of that death, and had made a new life for himself and the little girl he’d found during that final battle. 

“Baron Nicholas,” Mistress Elena said slowly, her eyes narrowed, “you cannot be suggesting…”

“I’m suggesting we let the past stay in the past.  The Dark One is dead.  However, Phil Coulson is living and breathing and being the best father I’ve ever has the pleasure of meeting.  He’s worked his ass off to raise Daisy, and to give her the values we want to see in the next generation.  Just look at the group of friends she has.”  He waved his hand toward the Novices standing around Phil, as if trying to guard him from whoever would try to take him away.  “This is what we need: a generation of kids who don’t give a shit what kind of magic their friends have.  And Phil did that, despite – or maybe because – of his own shitty childhood.  Don’t you think you should just forget the whole Dark One thing?  Like I said, he’s dead.  Let’s let him stay that way.”

Phil was shaking his head in wonder.  He had one arm around the young girl from Buda-Pest, and the other around Lola, who was leaning into her Wizard trying to support him.  Clint could tell it was working; Phil seemed a little calmer, yet not quite as accepting of his fate as he’d been when they’d broken into the chamber.  Which was a good thing.  The Elf hadn’t wanted to fight an entire roomful of Wizards just to drag him to safety.

Not that he wouldn’t have done just that, if he’d needed to.  And he sincerely doubted he would have been alone in anything he would have had to do to pull Phil’s extremely gorgeous butt out of there.

He kept his bow at the ready, though, just in case, although he didn’t have any of those enchanted arrows that Phil had given him. They’d been taken from him at the Hydra base.  He was still hoping to get them back, as well as his second-favorite bow.  Luckily for him, he’d left his absolute favorite back at Triskelia.  He still wasn’t sure what had motivated that but he was glad he had.

“You do realize,” Grand Master Stephen said, “that Master Phil is still the only Void we can possibly trust right now…despite his rather colorful past?”

“He’s proven himself,” Ianto added.  “He could have joined with Hydra, if he’d truly been the dark Wizard everyone thinks he is.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Phil denied.  “What Hydra’s done…it’s against natural law.  Tainting and twisting the Void to their own ends and wanting to actually create another Deathless…no offense, Captain Harkness.”

“None taken,” the Deathless assured him.  “Mainly because it’s a really bad idea to try to make another me. And I’m not just saying that because – “

“Jack,” Ianto said in warning.  His husband just looked at him unrepentantly.

“I might have done a lot of bad things,” Phil continued, “but I would never corrupt the very power that gives me my magic.  And, if we’re all being honest here, if what’s happened to me is real, then I’m already being penalized for what the Baron says my stupid, immature ass did when I was young and very, very angry.  I’ll have eternity to pay for my sins.”

Clint’s heart broke for him.  Phil was right.  Anything he’d done in the past was now being paid back a thousand-fold.  Someday, the Wizard would outlive even him, and that would be the day that Phil Coulson would cease to exist…

Although, Ianto had promised to be there, to help where he could.  Phil wouldn’t be alone, even though he’ll have lost the ones he loved.  He’d also promised something else…well, he’d have to see if that came to fruition.

Well, anyway, that day was far off.  They had time to live their lives.

And there was still that date.

“I think we need to convene once more,” Mistress Elena said. 

Phil bowed his head in response.  “I’ll await your decision.”

The Voids all made their way toward their section of the Quorum hall, and Clint could see a Privacy spell raise behind the last one. 

Damnit, Clint hated waiting.

 

 


	32. Chapter 32

 

Pepper hated waiting.

After all the excitement, she was feeling jittery, as if she’d had too much of Ianto’s excellent coffee.  Things certainly hadn’t turned out the way they’d all talked about, but perhaps this was for the best.  Phil’s past was out in the open, and now they could deal with the ramifications.  She could only hope things would work in their favor.

She was quite surprised about Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.  She hadn’t questioned the youngsters’ own pasts, only knowing that there had been some sort of drama in their family when they’d been toddlers, but knowing now that they’d been taken by Wolfgang von Strucker and experimented on…she wanted to hug them both and feed them cookies.

Pepper never wanted to feed _anyone_ cookies.  Not even Tony, after a two-day bender in his workshop when he looked at his most pathetic and exhausted.  No, Tony she wanted to sigh in exasperation at and then get him to the nearest bathtub.

Although, Ana’s cookies were works of art.  If she spent more time at home, Pepper would be twice her current weight, just from the pastries alone.

Shaking her head, Pepper knew she was going to have to have a talk with Grand Master Stephen about this, because it was obvious he’d gone searching for survivors of Buda-Pest, just in case of emergency.  It seemed like Ianto had been kept in the dark as she had, judging from his reaction.  She’d had no idea that Stephen was such a sneaky bastard, and she approved wholeheartedly.

She’d been thinking that Wanda would be a good fit for a Novice for Phil and, seeing them together, the Cardinal Wizard knew she’d been correct.  Phil was practically doting on her, as if he’d adopted her as well as Daisy, and Pepper figured it would only take a small bug in his ear to have him stepping forward. Now, she’d just have to work on Ianto taking on Pietro, because she was certain they’d be a good fit as well.  Perhaps she could speak to Jack about it… 

Daisy had joined them, and it was obvious she was introducing herself and her friends to the newcomers.  Pepper had hopes for this, as well; for Daisy to accept these two children into her group of friends, even though they were considerably younger than the others.  Daisy was a good person to know, and she’d be happy to protect them, as she did her current friends.  Pepper really was proud to be that young Wizard’s teaching Master.  Phil had done an excellent job in raising her.

“You know,” Maria said from her side, “I’d heard what had happened at Buda-Pest from Nick, and I still didn’t quite believe it.”

“And you do now?”

She glanced over at her fellow Head of Order.  Maria was staring at the Maximoff twins, as they shyly spoke to Daisy and her crew, Phil looking on like an indulgent parent as Jemma and Leo chattered on at the two newcomers, their dragons poking their snouts toward Wanda and Pietro, demanding attention, while Wanda nodded in agreement with whatever they’d told her.  Skye was on Daisy’s shoulders, looking very content, and the twin’s own dragons clambering all over the pair of Elven Novices…as dragons were wont to do when Elves were involved. Daisy’s young man, Lincoln, had taken it upon himself to speak to Pietro, and Antoine Triplett, who apparently didn’t feel like he needed to join the rest of the Voids in their deliberations, laughed at something Lincoln said, Pietro joining in.  Master Mack was hovering, not involved in the conversations, but very much a part of the group, introducing himself to Phil in a spare moment when the older Wizard wasn’t having his time monopolized by the Novices surrounding him.

As she watched, Clint joined the group.  Wanda smiled up at him, and while Pepper couldn’t hear what she said, she had a feeling it was about his own participation in the events that had led to hers and her brother’s freedom.  Clint nodded at Wanda as he accepted his due as well from the collected dragons, laughing at something Pietro said to him, Lincoln poking Trip in the ribs.

“I just…” Maria sighed.  “For so long, I had this impression of the razing of Buda-Pest being a bad thing, that innocent people had suffered because the Dark One and his minions had decided to burn the kingdom to the ground…but now, I’m beginning to wonder if everything I heard was a lie.”

“Phil told me that no one innocent in what Wolfgang was doing was harmed.  They just couldn’t let those children be hurt.  Things were…exaggerated, after the fact, but I can understand why.  I understand it looked very bad at the time.”

“How much of what the Dark One did has been blown up all out of proportion?”

“Oh, Phil will be the first one to tell you he wasn’t innocent.  But he’s really ashamed of what he’s done and, if what he said was true, then this is his punishment.”

“To live long past his loved ones.”

Maria sounded lost.  Pepper couldn’t blame her.  Her entire worldview seemed to have been turned on its ear in the last four days, and it had to have been hard for her to accept. 

Pepper was lost, as well.  Her heart was breaking for Phil, who was destined to outlive everyone he knew.  Yes, Ianto and Jack would take care of him when the time came, but to know that he could possibly live forever…it truly was a punishment.  And she had to question if what Phil had done truly warranted such eventual pain.

“Maria,” she turned toward her Great counterpart, using her name without the title for the possibly the first time ever, “you pride yourself on your sense of justice.”

Maria nodded.

“Can you see the justice in this situation? Can you see that Phil is going to be penalized for what he’d done when he was younger?  That the Void has taken care of the matter and you can let it lie?  Do you think you can work with him, if the Voids do decide to uphold their original nomination?”

Her face thoughtful, Maria’s eyes darted toward the gathering by the dais.  Ianto, Jack, Grand Master Stephen, and Baron Nick had all joined the group, and they were all chatting together, resembling people who’d known each other for years, instead of the short amount of time some of them had had.  It was hope for the future, she believed.

“From the moment I learned that Master Phil was once the Dark One,” Maria answered slowly, “I’ve been trying to come up with a way to condemn him without bringing Nick into it, and I’ve come to realize that there’s just no way to do it, mainly because Nick is just so damned _loyal_ to him.  To see it taken out of my hands, just because Hydra didn’t want to lose…it’s galling, in a way.  But, at the same time…I wish it hadn’t happened the way it did.”

She took a deep breath.  “I’ve seen people come forward to defend him, people that knew just who Master Phil Coulson had been and hadn’t cared.  There’s a part of me that believes that’s wrong somehow, but I think there’s two reasons for it:  the love of family because that will always blind a person to their loved one’s faults; and the knowledge that no one really had to pass any sort of judgement on him…the Void already did just that.”  She snorted.  “I’m not sure how I feel about the Void knowing to do it, but it did and I don’t think mortal justice could have done anything that would have measured up to what the Dark One had done.  At the same time, this sentence might have actually been a bit _too_ harsh, but the balance needs to be maintained.”

“You’re right, it does,” Pepper agreed. 

“As for working with him…” Maria shrugged.  “We’ll see.”

“At least you’re not dismissing it out of hand.”

“Well, I can’t promise my attitudes will change overnight, but I’ve been given a lot to think about.”

“That’s all we can ask, in the end…that you think about it.”

“I think everyone’s right though, about those children being our future.  It’s going to be in good hands.”

Pepper beamed.  Maybe there was some hope for Maria Hill yet.

“How long do you think the Voids will take?” Maria mused.

“They have a lot to deliberate,” Nick had joined them, and Pepper smiled up at him in greeting.

“That was a rather nice speech you gave,” she congratulated.  “It’s too bad we never even considered taking that tack before now.”

The Baron shrugged.  “Thanks. It really just came to me.  But it makes sense, doesn’t it?  The Dark One died.  He’s been dead for over a decade.  It’s time to let him rest in peace.”

Pepper agreed.  The Dark One and Phil Coulson really were two completely different people.  “And you weren’t just rationalizing it.  The Dark One really _did_ die, and Phil was born in his place.”

“Exactly.  And I’ve seen both versions.  They really _are_ different.  I’ve always credited Daisy for the change, but now I’m wondering if that first death had something to do with it as well.”

“We’ve been calling it a death,” Maria put in, “but are we really sure?  If Master Phil isn’t really like the Deathless, then he can’t have really died.”

“Well, he was as dead as I think a person can be, and still be brought back,” Nick replied.  “No pulse…no breathing…and the bleeding had pretty much stopped, not that there was a lot of blood left in that corpse.  Now, I didn’t check the wound, and from what we know about Grand Master Ianto, the Deep Ways heals any wounds he gets, and it’s pretty fucking obvious when it does.  I’m guessing the Void does the same thing with Phil, and that we’d be able to tell.”

“I think, though, we can truly say the Dark One is dead,” Ianto added.  He, Jack, and Stephen had also joined their group. “He might not have completely died physically, but he’s no longer a part of the man we know as Phil Coulson.”

“Exactly,” Stephen agreed.  “I doubt the Dark One would be practically adopting a pack of students just because they enjoy hanging around his daughter.”

“You think we could talk him into taking a few Novices?” the Grand Cardinal Wizard asked teasingly.

“I’m going to try and talk him into that very thing,” Pepper promised.  “I was thinking young Wanda would fit him perfectly, and that was before I knew he’d saved her life.  Also,” she turned to Ianto, “I was going to try and convince you to accept Pietro, Ianto.”

Jack laughed.  “It’s been a long time since you’ve had a Novice.  You can’t tell me you haven’t missed it.”

“Perhaps,” Ianto said noncommittally, but his eyes were sparkling.

“Don’t you think we need to see what the Voids decide first?” Maria asked.  “They may decide something different from what you all have planned.”

Maria had a point, Pepper knew.  Common sense said that they’d follow along with the idea that the Dark One truly was dead, and accept Phil as the new Grand Master of Voids.  After all, he was the most powerful among them, able to keep the seat against all comers.  He was also the only one they could be absolutely certain wasn’t Hydra, and that had to be taken into consideration. 

Alright, she knew he’d only accepted the original nomination on a temporary basis, even though that wasn’t actually stated in the open Quorum, but Pepper could foresee a time when the position would be his for a very long time, just as Ianto had been nominated due to his power levels and his functional immortality.  He could still be killed, but the Deep Ways would have something to say about it, just as the Void would for Phil.

“There really isn’t much of a choice,” Grand Master Stephen said.  “Their discussions are really only for form, so they don’t have to accept the inevitable while looking as if they were actually considering something different.”

Jack pursed his lips.  “Still, people are contrary.  Who knows what they might decide.”

“Yeah, well Phil wouldn’t object if they didn’t choose him,” Baron Nick commented. 

“Looks like we don’t have to wait much longer.”  Grand Master Stephen was looking toward the section of the hall where the Void Order was congregated.

“That was faster than I thought it would be,” Ianto commented.

Pepper glanced over toward the Voids, noticing that the Privacy spell was gone once more.  Mistress Elena and a group of Voids had moved toward Phil, which had Daisy, her friends, and Clint Barton standing in front of the man, ready to protect him.  Wanda and Pietro had joined them, which didn’t surprise Pepper at all considering what they’d just heard about their past.

“We have come to a decision,” the Head of Void Order for the Southern Confederacies announced.

 

 


	33. Chapter 33

 

Maria felt as if she’d had yet another world-shattering revelation, and quite honestly she was getting a bit tired of it.  They were quite frankly giving her a headache.

Hearing those two children explaining about Buda-Pest had been heartrending.  No one had the right to take kids away from their parents under the pretense of teaching them about the magic they had, before they’d even gained their dragons.  And to outright torture them…she’d have to ask Master Phil about this so-called artifact that King Wolfgang had used, to find out what had happened to it. Although, she was willing to bet it had been destroyed.  Just from the little she’d come to learn about Master Phil Coulson, she couldn’t see him keeping anything like that, even when he was officially the Dark One.

Getting rid of something that evil wasn’t a bad thing, in her opinion.

To know for sure that the Dark One had actually saved those children…she wondered just how many of them were at the Wizard School now, basically hiding in plain sight, and she made a note to herself to find them and attempt to help them deal with things.  She suspected she would have help, judging from how Master Phil was reacting around the Maximoffs.

She may have made a mistake in her thinking regarding the man who’d once been the Dark One, the scourge of the Western Lands.

Well, not according to Mistress Pepper, which was surprising as much as she seemed to care for Master Phil.  Apparently, not all of his deeds ranked with Buda-Pest.  It was gratifying that the Cardinal Head of Order wasn’t blind to the man’s crimes,  after her staunch support of the Wizard.  Maria thought that said something about Mistress Pepper, that she could accept that such crimes occurred and yet still accept Phil Coulson for who he was, who he’d been, and forgiven him.  Maria didn’t think her counterpart would have been able to do that if Master Phil hadn’t really changed.

In fact, after what Nick had said about the Dark One being really dead, and that Phil Coulson was a completely different man, Maria came to the conclusion that maybe she was ready to let things go.

It surprised her. 

But then, any sort of punishment she might have come up with for the Dark One wasn’t anything close to what the Void had handed out.  It did bother her a bit that this elemental force could apparently mete out whatever justice if deemed fit, but really…did anyone know all that much about either the Void or the Deep Ways, outside of a handful of people who’d made a study of that sort of thing?  Even the ancient writings – the ones who claimed that the Cardinals and Voids were wrong to do what they did – really didn’t give a very good explanation of how the power worked.  Reading Master John’s journal had given Maria an insight into that sort of thing, and she wondered just how long Grand Master Stephen would let her get away with keeping it, because honestly she felt the Greats should be teaching that sort of thing and damn the consequences. 

Who would have guessed that Maria Hill would have changed her opinion like that just within four days?

Well, she still had a ways to go.  There were some things that would take a long time to unlearn.  But Maria felt up to the task.

Also, standing so close to Grand Master Ianto and the Deathless – she’d have to get used to referring to him as Captain Harkness, because the Deathless was _what_ he was, and not _who_ he was – did seem to be a little less creepy, but that would also take some time. 

Still, she did wish that the Voids would make a different choice.  It was a combination of a lot of things, but Maria actually found herself pitying the man, as she watched him interact with the kids that had surrounded him and wanting to protect him from whatever the senior Wizards were planning.  She could understand his daughter, but the others….she’d seen how the two Elven Novices had acted when they’d heard about Master Phil being the Dark One, so they weren’t such a surprise.  But there was also a Void Novice in her group, and another Great Novice…who was apparently dating Daisy Coulson. 

Seeing Master Phil being so…parental…toward the entire group, including the new arrivals, was yet another revelation in the long line of them she’d had.  Maria very much doubted that the Dark One would have ever had that sort of expression on his face as he had, with Wanda Maximoff tucked under an arm, his dragon leaning into his side and mirroring her Wizard’s inner wonder at being chosen by those children. 

Damnit, Maria was having a really hard time now equating Master Phil Coulson with the Dark One.  Maybe she’d talk to Nick about it, after she apologized for the argument they’d had.

The Wizards around her were discussing Novices.  Before that moment, Maria would have balked at having any Novice assigned to the Dark One.  But, as she was coming to figure out, this wasn’t the Dark One.  That Void Wizard had been killed, and Phil Coulson had taken his place, and he was different from the criminal who’d done his best to destroy as much as he possibly could in what Nick had claimed had been a rage that had had him needing to make others hurt as much as he had.

“Don’t you think we need to see what the Voids decide first?” she finally had to speak up.  “They may decide something different from what you all have planned.”

Each of them looked as if they were considering her words.  Maria was inwardly gratified for that.

Finally, Grand Master Stephen said, “There really isn’t much of a choice.  Their discussions are really only for form, so they don’t have to accept the inevitable without looking as if they were actually considering something different.”

Captain Harkness looked a little pensive.  “Still, people are contrary.  Who knows what they might decide.”

“Yeah, well Phil wouldn’t object if they didn’t choose him.” Nick looked knowingly over toward the Void Wizard with  his entourage.  Before, Maria hadn’t been all that certain of that, but now, she felt that he was correct about Master Phil.  He really didn’t want power. 

It was just one more thing she’d taken for granted, that the Dark One would have wanted to be in charge of the Voids.

One more tick in the box for ‘Phil Coulson isn’t really the Dark One anymore’ list that was growing in Maria’s thoughts. 

“Looks like we don’t have to wait much longer.”

Maria followed  Grand Master Stephen’s gaze, toward the side of the room where the Voids had been in conference.  The Privacy spell had been dispersed, and Mistress Elena with several others were making their way toward Master Phil. 

“That was faster than I thought it would be,” Grand Master Ianto said.

Instantly, every single child was standing in front of Master Phil, as it to protect him from the approaching Voids.  Maria thought they might have actually had a chance, because no one would want to harm children, even if it meant letting Master Phil leave.  It didn’t hurt that the Hawk was also there, and the two other Grand Masters along with Captain Harkness and Mistress Pepper were also heading in their direction, all of them except for the Deathless having made their support of Master Phil known earlier.

“We have come to a decision,” Mistress Elena said.

“Let’s go and see what version of fresh hell that’s gonna rain down on us, shall well?” Nick offered Maria his arm, an overt gesture of respect and forgiveness and apology all in one. 

She accepted it, and allowed him to escort her.  It felt good to be back on some form of equilibrium with him.

“Mistress Elena,” Grand Master Stephen greeted her.  “What have you decided?”

The woman’s dark eyes darted toward Master Phil, taking in the Novices and students standing by, ready to do whatever would be needed on order to look out for his safety.  To be honest, in that gathering the Hawk didn’t even appear to be the most dangerous there, and he should have.  Those young Wizards were ready to take whatever action was necessary to protect Master Phil from the ‘fresh hell’ as Nick had put it that the rest of the Voids were about to unleash.

Then she turned back to the pair of Grand Masters, who had gone back to their seats, in recognition of the decision the Voids had come to.  Maria wondered if she shouldn’t be back at her own seat, but then figured it really didn’t matter.  Chances were, they weren’t really paying much attention to her anyway, standing as she was at the periphery of events.  She hadn’t been one of those throwing her support behind Master Phil and, while she had more of a better understanding of what was happening, she wasn’t yet ready to commit herself to that just yet.

“The Void Order,” Mistress Elena began, “has concluded that Master Phillip Coulson is the best choice for the newly vacated position as Grand Master of Voids –”

Daisy didn’t let her finish.  She was too busy letting out the loudest, most excited, shout that echoed throughout the chamber.  She practically jumped into her father’s arms, laughing happily, hugging him to within an inch of his now very long life.  The rest of the students offered their congratulations as well, only not as loud as Novice Daisy had done, but every single one of them was clamoring for the new Grand Master’s attention.

Master Phil’s dragon cried out in triumph, taking off and flying around the ceiling of the hall, followed by the other dragons who had crashed the meeting.  It was so very obvious that the Void Wizard’s familiar was as pleased as the children were at events, and wanted to celebrate it as much as the others.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Clint Barton grabbed Master Phil by the collar of his tunic and hauled him into a kiss that had Maria’s toes curling.  Now, that was _impressive_.  And if she found it hot, she didn’t really need to admit that to anyone.

Nick began slow clapping.  The asshole.

Maria couldn’t help the smile that curled her lips.  Never had she seen such  a display of joyous excitement in the Quorum chamber.  It was…nice to see, even for the reason it was going on.

“Children,” Grand Master Ianto chided gently, although it was obvious that he was pleased by the outcome.  “If we could please show a little decorum?”

That rebuke might not have been loud, but it got through to the Novices busily celebrating Master Phil’s elevation to the Grand Mastership. The twins stepped away first, most likely still not quite sure of their welcome, followed by the others.  Except for Novice Daisy, who seemed quite content to stand there with her arm around her father, beaming proudly as she leaned against him, the bright metal of the magical gauntlets she wore flashing in the light from the overhead fixtures. 

Mistress Elena was looking at them all indulgently.  “I do have more to say.”

Master Phil nodded.  “My apologies, Mistress Elena.”

She waved that away.  “You cannot control the excitement of your loved ones, Grand Master.”

The Void Wizard’s mouth opened, closed, and then he just didn’t say anything.  Maria wanted to laugh at the sheer befuddlement on his face.

“As I was going to say,” Mistress Elena said, once silence was achieved, “this decision was unanimous, despite the revelations we’ve had here today.  However, as an order we have also decided that those revelations aren’t pertinent to what’s happening within the Void Order.  We have also decided that the Dark One is, indeed, dead.  I very much doubt he would have reacted the way you have, Grand Master, when we attempted to name you to the position before we were so rudely interrupted.”

“I…don’t want the position,” Master Phil admitted, “but I’ll accept it for now, until we can make sure there’s no Hydra left and we can choose another Grand Master.”

“We appreciate that, although the one refusing the power is usually the best person to hold it.”

Maria couldn’t disagree.  Everything that Master Phil had shown so far had pointed to him not wanting to take over as Grand Master.  That made her predisposed to accept him, just for that alone.

Predisposed.  Not fully accepting. 

Yet.

“And you’re gonna be so good at it!” Novice Daisy exclaimed.

He shrugged, as if he didn’t quite believe her but wasn’t willing to argue about it.

“Another decision we’ve made,” Mistress Elena continued, “was that the Dark One is officially dead.  Baron Nicholas has a valid point: that dark Wizard was killed eleven years ago.  The man that was reborn…well, truth be told, we believe the Void has already passed judgement, and none of us will go against what the Void wants.”

Maria still wasn’t sure about the Void being able to do any sort of judging, but she really didn’t know anything about it…or the Deep Ways.  Only what she’d read in the old documents, and she was thinking a lot of that was Great Wizard propaganda.  It would be a lifetime task to get those records straightened out, and she figured the newest crop of students – particularly those that were like Novice Daisy’s friends – would be the perfect ones for that task.

“Thank you all for your service,” Grand Master Stephen said, nodding to the Voids.  “We appreciate you setting aside some of the things you’ve heard here today in order to make the best choice possible.”

Mistress Elena shrugged.  “We’ll just chalk it up to a Hydra plot…which it obviously was.  We’ll need to question Werner von Strucker as soon as he’s recovered enough from his wounds.”

The Hawk was smirking, leaning against Master Phil, the Void Wizard shaking his head in fond disapproval.

“But…” and she looked uncertain.

“I know,” Master Phil sighed.  “Everyone knows now.  It won’t be a secret anymore.”

“May I have your attention, please,” Grand Master Ianto called out over the gathered Wizards.  No one had left the chamber; this wasn’t a surprise to Maria at all, because everyone wanted to know the outcome of this whole mess.

Every Wizard in the Quorum Hall settled back into seats, except for those around the dais, Maria included.  She thought no one would most likely notice one more, even though she’d linked her arm with Nick’s.

“The Voids have chosen,” the Grand Master continued.  “Phillip Coulson is the new Grand Master of Void Order.  However, you have all heard revelations made in this chamber today, and we are counting on your vows of secrecy in keeping what you have learned from getting out.  The past is the past, and the future is what we make it, and the Void has chosen to create my opposite, in accordance with the balance. Do you all swear to respect the Void Order’s decision on this?  And to respect our newest Grand Master, for however long he stays in that position?”

A chorus of agreement rolled through the hall, Maria’s voice among them.  Honestly, it wouldn’t do anyone a bit of good to gossip about what had happened, and it came to her that the Dark One would have had a lot more enemies out there than Hydra and Werner von Strucker.  Making Master Phil any more of a target than he already was would have been counterintuitive to fixing their current mess.

It could also put Novice Daisy and the rest of Master Phil’s loved ones in danger. 

It was pretty much guaranteed that the at-large Hydra members would cause more trouble.  However, if rumors did start about the Dark One and Master Phil Coulson, they would know where they started.  Leaking that sort of revelation would paint a bullseye on anyone who spread that information.

Grand Master Ianto added, “There will be no mention of anything said in this chamber today.  If rumors do begin, we will track down those who started them and they will be punished for breaking their vow.  As of now, the only ones not bound by the Wizard’s oath of confidentiality that each and every one of us has taken are those we’ve outlawed, so please be aware anyone spreading stories will be considered Hydra and we will act accordingly.”

Every single Wizard with permission to attend the Quorum swore never to reveal what occurred within the Quorum, from the moment they began to attend.  This secrecy was in the Guild laws, and it was sacrosanct.  The Grand Master was correct; anyone passing along information to someone not in the Quorum – with certain exceptions – would be sanctioned.  Anything not in the official announcements would be considered as breaking the Guild law and would be punished accordingly.

Of course, Nick and Clint Barton weren’t Wizards, but Maria knew they could be trusted.  Just from the Hawk’s reaction to Master Phil’s appointment, she figured it would take extraordinary torture in order to get him to talk.

“Very well,” the Cardinal Grand Master said, once everyone had once again answered in the affirmative.  “The official ceremony of swearing in the new Void Grand Master will be in a week hence.  Grand Master Stephen and I will be preparing Master Phil for his new duties until then, as well as discussing with him the best way to discover Hydra and bring their members out into the light of day.”

“For now,” Grand Master Stephen took over, “everyone in the Quorum is dismissed.  May the Gods watch out for you all, and see you all safely to your homes.”

With that, the Quorum broke up, the Wizards leaving via the doors.  Any Teleport spells didn’t work within the chamber, not with the wards that were up.

“Well,” Nick drawled, “that was fucking exciting.  How about we all grab something to eat to celebrate, then we can talk strategy on hunting down whatever Hydra bastards are still a part of the Quorum.”

Well, Maria actually had wanted to spend the night with Nick, but that looked to be out of the question.  They both had some making up to do, and she was perfectly willing to be the one doing the making up, especially since she’d been the one to put the pressure on their relationship.

 

 


	34. Chapter 34

 

Phil couldn’t believe it.

He was actually the Grand Master of Void Order.

Well, not permanently, but he didn’t think he’d be leaving the position for a while, not until this mess from Hydra was cleaned up and a new Grand Master could be chosen.

He really didn’t want the damned job.

What he really wanted was to get to know Clint better once again; it had been years since they’d last seen each other, and they were different people now.  Still, he thought they had an excellent chance of developing something special between them, and he wanted to explore that possibility.

He wanted to keep on raising Daisy, and to help her with her schoolwork…and maybe teach a little something to her friends, what he could that would go along with their own studies.  He wanted to have a nice long talk with Lincoln, the boyfriend…not to scare him off, although as her father that any conversation they would have would be enough to rattle the young man into treating his daughter well. And, if he did hurt her, then he could threaten the young man.

And he wanted to see about taking a Novice.

Ever since he’d overheard Pepper mention it during the Quorum, Phil had been seriously considering it.  Wanda would be his choice, if just because he wanted to learn more about her, and her life after Buda-Pest.  He sensed a kindred soul in her, and wanted to help her blossom into the sort of Void Wizard he never had the chance to be.  In many ways she could be his redemption, although not in the same way Daisy had been; with Wanda, he could teach her the lessons that Mistress Suzie had done her best to instill within him, only he’d been too angry at the world for them to actually sink in.  This could be a tribute to her, and to her teachings, and hopefully he could do her memory justice.

However, there was still Hydra out there, and they needed to be taken care of before he could go back to his semi-hermit lifestyle at Shield Keep, and maybe invite Clint to join him in his solitude.

“Are you alright?”

He glanced up, meeting Ianto’s sympathetic eyes.  Nick’s suggestion had been taken up by their entire group – including Daisy’s friends – and they’d all congregated to one of the small meeting rooms in the Quorum House.  They were private enough for their purposes, and Stephen – he was just barely getting used to calling Ianto by his given name, and now Stephen Strange wanted him too, as well – had arranged for food to be brought in.  It had been set up buffet style, and Phil had taken a plate to fill it with various items he wasn’t really paying attention to, so lost in thoughts was he.

He’d found a seat open next to Ianto; Jack was seated on the other side of the Grand Master, and Clint had plopped himself down on Phil’s other side, his plate so full it was a wonder he hadn’t spilled anything on his way over.  Lola had curled up at his feet, contentment singing through their link, her back against Ianto’s Myfanwy, who had also taken up position on the floor within touching distance of her Wizard.  The two of them seemed to be getting along famously.

Daisy and her friends appeared to have adopted Wanda and Pietro; they were all sitting on the floor near the buffet table, chatting easily, plates on the carpet and seemingly forgotten…except for their various dragons, who to a single one looked as if they were just waiting for their chance to pounce on the neglected food. 

Both Pepper and Mistress Maria were speaking to the Great Wizard who had stood up for him; he’d introduced himself as Alphonso Mackenzie or, as he said, Master Mack, Jemma and Leo’s teaching Master. Nick was hovering around Maria, which was almost too cute for words…not that Phil would ever say anything to that effect.  Marcus would have made sure he was dead for good if he dared.

The really surprising thing was that Mistress Elena Rodriguez had joined them, and she seemed pretty interested in Master Mack.  Well, who could blame her?  He was quite handsome, and had more muscles than Clint did, which was saying something. 

Personally, Phil believed she would eat the poor man for breakfast.  Just from what he’d seen today, she was certainly very strong-willed, and Master Mack seemed to be a walking marshmallow, from the very little time he’d had to observe the man.  Just knowing he was Jemma and Leo’s teaching Master told him quite a lot about the man.

Phil turned back to Ianto, letting his mouth curl up in a self-deprecating smile.  “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe I’d find myself in this situation.”

“Who does?” the Cardinal Wizard asked, rhetorically.  “But the universe has a mind of its own.”

Clint was leaning against him as he chatted with Stephen, and Phil could feel the heat of him through his tunic.  It was quite comforting. 

Ianto had a very valid point about that. 

“I do feel a bit like I’ve had the biggest practical joke played on me, though.”

That had Jack, who’d been listening in, laughing.  “I haven’t stopped feeling like that since my first death, so you’re not alone.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one, then.”  Phil took a bite of some cheese, enjoying the sharpness of it.  “I’m just having a really difficult time dealing with all this.”

It was hard to admit.  Phil had always prided himself on being self-sufficient, so not being able to handle something was galling.  However, he also knew he’d been denying it for years, so it was about time it all piled up on him.  There was no way to avoid it.  He just couldn’t any longer, and feel he was completely sane.

“You’re not alone,” Ianto comforted.  “You don’t have to handle this all by yourself.”

Phil knew that, and he was grateful.  But, he knew Nick had been right…this was a punishment, and he also knew that his friend wasn’t the only one to think if it that way.  The Void was punishing him for his misdeeds, and he couldn’t blame anyone for that but himself. 

All he could do was make the best of the life he’d been given.

He’d already gotten a start with Daisy.  Now, he could take the next step with Clint.

He didn’t even want to consider losing them at the moment.

Or maybe ever.

“You know,” Jack drawled, “what you really _should_ be doing is grabbing that Elf by one of those magnificently pointed ears and dragging him out of here for a little alone time.”  He waggled his eyebrows.  “I think some celebrating is in order, and I’m sure he wouldn’t object.”

“Jack,” Ianto rolled his eyes fondly.

“Hey, it’s what I’d be doing,” the Deathless defended.  “Or, I should say, it’s what I’m about to do.  Do you have any idea just how gorgeous you are when you wrangle a Quorum?  All that dominant energy… it’s almost a shame that you didn’t use it on me.”

“Well,” the Cardinal Grand Master said, his accent thickening just a little, “we _do_ happen to live nearby, and Eirlys will be busy with her duties until much later in the day since she had to spend the morning in Quorum…”

Jack dropped his plate onto the nearest table, grabbed Ianto by the hand, and was hauling him out of the room before another word could be said.

Phil couldn’t help but laugh…and feel as if they had the right idea.  Only, it was a little early for him and Clint, but…

He set his plate down on Ianto’s abandoned seat, standing.  He turned toward Clint, who had stopped talking and was staring up at Phil, his gaze curious.  “How about we go somewhere more private?” he suggested.

The smile he got was bright and happy.  “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

Ignoring Stephen’s smirk, Phil held out his hand and Clint, putting his own plate aside, was out of his chair in an instant, his calloused hand warm in his.  Lola chirped happily as she got right up between them and, with a simple flick of his magic, Phil activated the Teleport spell in the thin bracelet he’d put on that morning, not caring that they were about to be very rude and not waiting until they were out of the room, like Ianto and Jack had done.

The slight wrench of teleportation faded out the moment his casting chamber appeared around them.  Phil was about to invite Clint up and into the public parts of the Keep when the Elf took matters into his own hands, pushing the Wizard back against the central plinth and kissing him.

It was rough, and urgent, and absolutely perfect.  Phil’s hands flailed for a moment before resting on Clint’s waist, tugging him closer, not ashamed to let himself get caught up in the kiss, their tongues tangling together, kissing until Phil’s lips began to tingle and air became a valuable commodity.

“Well,” he gasped when they broke apart, “this isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I’m usually very good at improvising.”

“I’ve only been waiting years to do that,” Clint was positively breathless, and the Wizard shivered at the knowledge that he’d done that just by kissing the archer.

He’d wanted to do the whole wining and dining thing.  Phil had wanted to get to know Clint, after being apart for all these years.  Explore their feelings and see if this was going anywhere.

And yet, all those resolutions were fading fast under a pair of kaleidoscopic eyes and a hard body….with something equally hard resting against his own, matching, hardness that Phil doubted was a knife.

Lola was cooing in the background, his mind filled with just how happy she was that her Wizard was finally letting Clint know just how he’d felt for years.  He mentally shushed her, and she laughed at him.

Of course she did.

“Why don’t we take this up to my bedroom?” Phil suggested, getting his breathing under control.

“Now that,” Clint grinned, “sounds like an excellent idea.”

Phil’s grin matched his.  “I do have them occasionally.”

 

 _Fin…_ for now.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a sequel, "The Hunters and the Prey" that I'm currently working on. It will be posted when it's done. :)


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